Ghost Riders in the Sky Song – An Overview

Ghost Riders in the Sky is a country song composed in the cowboy style in 1948 by Stan Jones. Little did he know then 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 is a visionary song about a cowboy who sees cattle with red eyes being chased by ghost cowboys in the sky. He is warned to change his life style or risk to become one of them as a punishment for all his evil deeds. The song has strong echoes of European myths and it surely has a great artistic making.

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. Moreover, it seems the that the famous band The Doors took their inspiration from Ghost Riders in the Sky song when they created their Riders on the Storm hit. From all the versions of the material, the one recorded by Vaughn Monroe in 1949 was the best climbing to the first place in the Billboard charts of the year, and remaining in this position for more than five months.

Ghost Riders in the Sky was performed in the movie Blues Brothers 2000, and then it was even taken as a source of inspiration by a German heavy metal band. In time, several rock musicians aimed at adapting the original country song to the more aggressive sounds and lyrics of rock music, 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.

An Irish parody version of Ghost Riders in the Sky refers to the destruction of British helicopters by IRA members, although 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 pointing at terrorist or Republican facts. Last but not least, Ghost Riders in the Sky also served as a starting point for the creation of some football club songs by supporters. Yet, beyond all the remaking, it is clearly obvious that Ghost riders in the Sky made history in the annals of country music.

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