It was first recorded by the northern bluegrass band The Greenbriar Boys and included on their 1966 album Better Late than Never!.

Nesmith offered it to his group the Monkees, but the producers of the TV show turned it down, though he did perform a short comic version of the song in one episode.

Its narrator is the lover who wants to remain free, telling the other that "we'll both live a lot longer" if they part ways now.

[7][6] The song reached a wider audience when Nesmith rushed through a version of it in a comedy bit while pretending to be Billy Roy Hodstetter, in the Monkees television show episode "Too Many Girls", which aired in December 1966.

The Stone Poneys had intended to record an "acoustic ballad version" of the song, but producer Nick Venet opted for a more complex instrumental approach, using an arrangement by Jimmy Bond (who also played bass), guitarists Al Viola and future Eagles co-founder Bernie Leadon[13] drummer Jim Gordon, strings led by Sid Sharp, and harpsichord played in baroque style (and largely improvised during the recording) by Don Randi.

[6] The album rendition offers a different stereo mix from the hit single, including a longer harpsichord bridge.

[14] Ronstadt later commented that she had been surprised and "completely confused" by the changed approach to the song, and that even years later she perceived "fear and a lack of confidence" in her performance.