Ghost Riders In The Sky

Ghost Riders in the Sky is a country song composed in the cowboy style in 1948 by Stan Jones. He had no clue about what a hit his song was going to become, as there have been dozens of rewrites and versions over the decades. Ghost Riders in the Sky remains the song of a cowboy who red-eyed cattle chased by ghost cowboys in the sky. In the vision the cowboy is warned to change his life style or never find peace in the after life and be damned for eternity. Moreover, European myths can be read between the lines in the lyrics.

Ghost Riders In The Sky

Ghost Riders in the Sky has become a classic by now, and almost all the big names of country music made an attempt at its interpretation. Even the Riders on the Storm composed by The Doors, seems to find its sources in Stan Jones’ song. From all the variants of the material, the one V. Monroe recorded in 1949 was the best climbing to the first place in the Billboard charts of the year, and remaining in this position for no less than twenty two weeks.

Ghost Riders in the Sky became part of the soundtrack of the movie Blues Brothers 2000, and then it was even taken as a source of inspiration by a German heavy metal band. Along the years, several rock musicians aimed at combining the initial original country song with the message of the rock movement, and different success rates were scored. Beside rewrites, new versions and source of inspiration, Ghost Riders in the Sky also fueled all sorts of parodies from the Ghost Writers in Disguise to politically engaged lyrics that some listeners may not even be aware of.

Ghost Riders In The Sky

An Irish parody variant of Ghost Riders in the Sky deals with the destruction of British helicopters by IRA members, though no such violence has ever occurred. Despite these politically engaged messages that could be added to the Ghost Riders in the Sky, the majority of the performing artists don’t see any such interpretation in the lyrics, and sing the song without any reference to terrorist or Republican facts. All in all, Ghost Riders in the Sky also represented a topic for the creation of some football club songs by supporters. Yet, beyond all the changes, it is clearly obvious that Ghost riders in the Sky made history in the annals of country music.