"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" is a country and cowboy-style song. It was written on June 5, 1948 by Stan Jones.. A number of versions were crossover hits on the pop charts in 1949. The ASCAP database lists the song as "Riders in the Sky" (title code: 480028324), but the title has been written as "Ghost Riders", "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and "A Cowboy Legend".

The song tells of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys. One warns him that if he does not change his ways, he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies". Jones said that he had been told the story when he was 12 years old by an old cowboy friend. The story resembles the northern European mythic Wild Hunt.

More than 50 performers have recorded versions of the song. Charting versions were recorded by Vaughn Monroe ("Riders in the Sky" with orchestra and vocal quartet), by Bing Crosby (with the Ken Darby Singers), Frankie Laine, Marty Robbins, and Johnny Cash. Other recordings were made by Peggy Lee (with the Jud Conlon Singers) and Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Gene Autry sang it in the 1949 movie, Riders in the Sky. Children of Bodom, Impaled Nazarene and Die Apokalyptischen Reiter have also made covers.

According to Robby Krieger, it inspired the classic Doors song "Riders on the Storm." The Doors also covered Ghost Riders in the Sky.

The song was also the inspiration for the Marvel Comics character "Ghost Rider."

The chorus lines of this song are and have been since the 1960's a terrace song of the Aston Villa Football Club of England. The words have been modified to include the line " Holte Enders in the Sky" a reference to the occupants of the vast stand behind the goal at the southern end of the Villa Park stadium.

Recordings have also been made by Mary McCaslin, The Tubes (masquerading as "Cowboy Fee & The Heifer's Dream"), Marty Robbins, Dean Martin, Boston Pops, Lawrence Welk, R.E.M., Dixie Chicks, Kaleidoscope, The Doors, ( Guy Vanderhoof), and the British gothic rock band Scary Bitches. There is a German language version of the song called "Geisterreiter" which as early as 1949 was recorded by east german entertainer Rita Paul & ther Cornel-Trio. Same year the version was released by Gerhard Wendland. More than 20 versions of the German version are known. Most notably by Howard Carpendale and Karel Gott. There is a cover by the surf-punk-electro-band Mikrowelle as well as in 2008 by German TV-entertainer Götz Alsmann feat. Bela B (from Die Ärzte).

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The Drifters: "Feelin Fine" · "Jet Black" · The Shadows: "Saturday Dance" · "Apache" · "Man of Mystery" / "The Stranger" · "FBI" · "The Frightened City" · "Kon-Tiki" · "The Savage" · "Wonderful Land" · "Guitar Tango" · "Dance On" · "Foot Tapper" · "Atlantis" · "Shindig" · "Geronimo" · "Theme for Young Lovers" · "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" · "Rhythm and Greens" · "Genie With the Light Brown Lamp" · "Mary Anne" · "Stingray" · "Don't Make My Baby Blue" · "The War Lord" · "I Met a Girl" · "A Place in the Sun" · "The Dreams I Dream" · "Maroc 7" · "Tomorrow's Cancelled' · "Bombay Duck" · "Somewhere" · "Running out of World" · "Dear Old Mrs. Bell" · "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" · "Turn Around and Touch Me" · "Let Me Be the One" · "Run Billy Run" · "It'll Be Me Babe" · "Another Night" · "Love Deluxe" · "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" · "Theme from the Deer Hunter (Cavatina)" · "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto" · " Riders in the Sky " · "Heart of Glass" · "Equinoxe (Part V)" · "Mozart Forte" · "The Third Man" · "Telstar" · "Imagine/Woman" · "Treat Me Nice"