"Cotton Jenny" is a song written and recorded by Gordon Lightfoot for his 1971 album Summer Side of Life. The song was later released as a single by Canadian country-pop artist Anne Murray.
Murray's version was released in January 1972 as the first single from her album Talk It Over in the Morning. It peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart. It also reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the United States. The song also appears on Murray's 2007 album , performed as a duet with Olivia Newton-John.
Murray's version omits a verse (beginning with "In the hot, sickly south...") from Lightfoot's original lyric. In later years, Lightfoot decided to omit the same lyric when he sang the song at live concerts.