Ghost Riders in the Sky - Stan Jones

(Ghost) Riders in the Sky
Written: Stan Jones June 5, 1948

Ghost Riders in the Sky Lyrics

An old cowpoke went riding out one dark and windy day,
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way,
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw,
A ploughin' thru the ragged skies
And up a cloudy draw.
Yippee-yi-ay, yippee-yi-o,
The ghost herd in the sky.

Their brands were still on fire and their hooves wuz made of steel,
Their horns wuz black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel,
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered thru the sky,
For he saw the riders comin' hard
And he heard their mournful cry.
Yippee-yi-ay, yippee-yi-o,
Ghost riders in the sky.

Their faces gaunt their eyes were blurred and shirts all soaked
with sweat,
They're ridin' hard to atch that herd but they ain't caught them yet
'Cause they've got to ride forever on that range up in the sky,
On horses snortin' fire
As they ride on, hear their cry.
Yippee-yi-o, yippee-yi-o,
Ghost riders in the sky.

As the riders loped on by him he heard one call his name,
"If you want to save your soul from hell a-riding on our range,
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
A-try'ng to catch the devil's herd
Across these endless skies."
Yippee-yi-ay, yippee-yi-o,
The ghost riders in the sky.

Ghost Riders in the Sky Singers

1. Stan Jones recorded in late 1948


2 Burl Ives recorded on February 17, 1949 3 Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra (billboard hit) recorded on March 14, 1949 4 Gene Autry 1949 5 (A Cowboy Legend) Peggy Lee May 23, 1949 6 Sons of the Pioneers June 1949 7 Ghost  "Scat Man" Crothers 1957 8  Ed McCurdy January 1958 9 Eddy Arnold October 1959 10 The Spotnicks 1961 11 The Jumping Jewels March 1961 12 The Ventures September 1961 13 Frank Ifield 1963 14 Lorne Greene 1964 15 Walter Brennan 1964 16 Bobby Vinton 1966 17 Baja Marimba Band (Instrumental) (billboard adult contemporary) 1966 18 The Englishmen 1967 19 Tom Jones March 24, 1967 20 Bob Wills January 1968 21 Dennis Stoner November 1971 22 Mary McCaslin 1975 23 Johnny Cash April 1979 24 The Shadows August 1979 25 Outlaws 1980 26 Marty Robbins 1984 27 The Trashmen 1990 28 Ghost Reindeer in the Sky R.E.M. December 1990 29 Slapping Suspenders 1992 30 Michael Martin Murphey 1993 31 Johnny Cash / Willie Nelson 1998 32  The Slingshots 1998 33 (A Cowboy Legend) Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and The Blues Brothers Band 1998 34 The Foggy Mountain Rockers 1999 35 Ned Sublette April 6, 1999 36 Elvis Presley August 2001 37 Concrete Blonde June 29, 2004 38 Peter Pan Speedrock 2006 39 Me First and the Gimme Gimmes October 17, 2006 40 Wilfried Van den Brande February 2008 41 Children of Bodom April 9, 2008 42 Judy Collins 2010

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