Riders on the Storm

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm.

There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirming like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet family will die
Killer on the road, yeah.

Girl you gotta love your man
Girl you gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah.

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm.

Riders on the storm (X4)



- "Riders on the Storm" According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the song, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend".

- This is the Johnny Cash version of the song, "Ghost Riders in the Sky"



- Lyrics of the original Stan Jones version of Ghost Riders in the Sky

- The song is played in the E Dorian mode, and incorporates real sound effects of thunder and rain, along with Ray Manzarek's Fender Rhodes electric piano playing, which emulates the sound of rain.

- Jim Morrison recorded his main vocals and then whispered the lyrics over them to create the haunting effect. Reference

- The song's lyrics allude in part to the notorious spree killer Billy Cook, who posed as a hitchhiker and murdered an entire family. ("There's a killer on the road... // His brain is squirmin' like a toad... ") According to a widespread urban legend the song was conceived as an allusion to a tragic accident caused by another car's reckless driving, ending in several deaths of Navajo tribesmen as his car hit a truck where they were traveling.

- The film, Hitch-Hiker, inspired by the events of Billy Cook.

-Featured on The Doors’ 1971 album LA Woman, Riders on the Storm was written by Jim Morrison and reached number 14 on the music charts. According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the Stan Jones song, (Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend. However popular myth tells us that in fact, Riders on the Storm was possibly written about three different incidents.

1. The killing spree of Billy Cook who posed as a hitchhiker and murdered an entire family – highlighted by the lyrics “There's a killer on the road, His brain is squirmin' like a toad, Take a long holiday, Let your children play, If ya give this man a ride, Sweet memory will die, Killer on the road”
2. A tragic accident involving a reckless driver and several deaths of Navajo tribesman when the car hit them head on
3. The poem, Chevaliers de l'Ouragan (literally, "Riders of the Hurricane"), by French Communist poet Louis Aragon

-Doors expert Dan Keating, suggests that “Morrison's standard joke of the word Dog spelling God backwards slides in (to the song) as does the notion that we are all but acting out a part in this life, souls on loan to this world. But this world can be harsh, evident in the sedate presentation of the deadly reality of killer hitchhikers on freeways. The imagery is blunt, and the gentle undercurrent of the song's music and lyrics now harbors the threatening edge of death.”

The lyrics, “Into this house we're born, Into this world we're thrown, Like a dog without a bone, An actor out alone, Riders on the storm,” help to illustrate Keating’s point that “Jim's message was act now, search later. Life is a journey, but any journey will be painful. Life is pain, love is pain, and fear prevents people from experiencing life, from accepting what The Doors ultimately come to realize, that we are all just Riders On The Storm”. Reference

- This was the last song Jim Morrison ever recorded.