Ghost Riders In The Sky
With Ghost Riders in the Sky, Stan Jones opened a great chapter in the history of country music as early as 1948. 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 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. Moreover, European myths can be read between the lines in the lyrics.
Ghost Riders in the Sky has become a classic by now, and almost all the stars of country music aimed 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 versions of the material, the one recorded by Vaughn Monroe in 1949 was the best getting the first place in the Billboard charts of the year, and holding this position for more than five months.
Ghost Riders in the Sky was performed in the movie Blues Brothers 2000, and then it inspired a heavy metal rendition by a German band. In time, other rock bands made attempts at combining the initial original country song with the message of the rock movement, and they enjoyed different levels of success. Ghost Riders in the Sky generated cultural responses other than rewrites and new versions, and here we mainly refer to parody and political engagement.
An Irish parody variant of Ghost Riders in the Sky deals with the destruction of British helicopters by IRA members, though no such acts of violence were ever committed. 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 starting point for the creation of engaged 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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