Don't Tell Me What to Do

For the Baby Animals song of the same name, see Don't Tell Me What to Do (Baby Animals song).

"Don't Tell Me What to Do" is a song written by Harlan Howard and Max D. Barnes, and recorded by the American country music artist Pam Tillis. Her breakthrough single, it was released in December 1990 as the first single from the album Put Yourself in My Place. The song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.^[1]

"Don't Tell Me What to Do"
Single by Pam Tillis
from the album Put Yourself in My Place
B-side	"Melancholy Child"
Released	December 1, 1990
Genre	Country
Length	3:12
Label	Arista
Songwriter(s)	Harlan Howard, Max D. Barnes
Producer(s)	Paul Worley, Ed Seay
Pam Tillis singles chronology
"There Goes My Love" (1987) "Don't Tell Me What to Do" (1990) "One of Those Things" (1991)

Marty Stuart recorded this song in 1988 under the title "I'll Love You Forever (If I Want To)" for his Let There Be Country album, although the album was not released until 1992.^[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1990–1991)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[3]	18
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[5]	65