Songfacts®:

• The first single from her second album, Put Yourself In My Place, "Don't Tell Me What To Do," was Pam Tillis' breakthrough hit, going to #5 on the Billboard Country Charts. It was written by two Country songwriting superstars: Max D. Barnes and Harlan Howard. Howard, whose classic songs include "Busted" and "I Fall To Pieces," said that he is particularly proud of the first line of the song ("We tried and we failed and it's over, I didn't fit the image in your mind") because of how much narrative he was able to fit into such little space. He explained to journalist Bill DeMain: "I got rid of a bunch of clutter, two verses worth at least. We got married in Massachusetts and moved to Boston, things like that. The first line tells you that the relationship has failed and why it's failed, so the situation is over. I condensed the hell out of that and it flowed like a river."
• The song is on one level an anthemic declaration of independence following a romantic fallout, while on another level cleverly subverting this to mourn how hard it is to truly get over somebody. The verses are all variations on Tillis declaring how she's moved on - "Don't tell me what to do, you've already said that we are through." However, they all conclude with the same way: "So don't tell me what to do, I'll love you forever if I want to."
• Marty Stuart recorded the song, then titled "I'll Love You Forever (If I Want To)," for his 1988 Let There Be Country album. However, the album wasn't released until 1992, making Tillis' the original version.