[Publius]

The Doors: "Riders on the Storm"

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"Riders on the Storm" is a great tune, but a few years ago I fell in love with the original song that The Doors copied, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky." It is a cowboy-styled country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter, film and television actor Stan Jones.

An old cowboy 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-plowing through the ragged sky and up the cloudy draw

My favorite covers are by Burl Ives, Judy Collins (yes, Judy Collins - one of the few female covers), Anton Myburgh, Duane Eddy, Johnny Cash, Kevin Lovatt, Marty Robbins, Patrick Norman, Richard Kiser, The Sons of the Pioneers, Vaugn Monroe, and Vic Damone. All have some remarkable variations on the theme, but powerful male baritones rule (except for Judy Collins).