(Art by James Clark. Used with permission.) |
So, after a few basic repairs please enjoy the tale of that Devil's herd thundering across the sky.
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 30, 2009
An impressionable 12-year-old rode to the top of an Arizona hill one afternoon with an old Cowboy friend to check a windmill. A big storm was building and they needed to lock the blades down before the wind hit. When finished, they paused to watch the clouds darken and spread across the sky. As lightning flashed, the Cowboy told the boy to watch closely and he would see the devil’s herd, their eyes red and hooves flashing, stampede ahead of phantom horsemen. The Cowboy warned the youth that if he didn’t watch himself, he would someday be up there with them, chasing steers for all eternity.
More than 60 years ago this frightening vision, now found on the Western Music Association Web site, was etched into the consciousness of America. “Ghost Riders in the Sky” is a perfect Halloween song for the West. It’s the only cowboy song in which “yippie-yi-yay” becomes a demonic taunt. The boy who heard the tall tale from the old cowpoke would grow up to be forest ranger/songwriter Stan Jones.
Of course, it didn’t stop there. It’s been covered by everyone from Concrete Blonde to Dean Martin. Frankie Laine, another popster with an ear for cowboy songs (think “High Noon” and “Rawhide”) also covered “Ghost Riders.”
The fact that “Ghost Riders” has a cinematic feel to it is no accident. Jones did a lot of soundtrack work for John Ford Westerns, including writing music for The Searchers (in which John Wayne spoke a catch phrase that inspired a Buddy Holly hit, “That’ll Be the Day”) and Rio Grande.
When Jones wrote “Ghost Riders,” he was working for the National Park Service in Death Valley.
My two favorite versions of “Ghost Riders” are no longer in print. The one that raised goose bumps on me as a kid was on a 1964 LP called Welcome to the Ponderosa by Lorne Greene — yes, a tacky TV tie-in from Bonanza’s Ben Cartwright. This version has a full-blown orchestra, a chorus, and Greene’s distinct gravely voice. (Greene’s hit “Ringo” was also on this album.)
Then there’s the country-rock version from New Mexico’s own Last Mile Ramblers, from their 1974 album While They Last. The artist currently known as Junior Brown is playing guitar, and the vocals are by Spook James. This was always a highlight of the Ramblers’ shows at The Golden Inn and Bourbon & Blues.
I’m not sure how many cowboys changed their ways because of the warning in the song. But next time you see lightning in the sky, look for those red-eyed cows and gaunt-faced cowboys.
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Here's an entire herd of "Ghost Riders" videos.
Ler's start out with Marty Robbins
Vaughan Monroe
Johnny Cash and his pals, The Muppets.
Spike Jones
Last Mile Ramblers
The Outlaws
Dick Dale
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
And my sentimental favorite, Lorne Greene