This infamous tune is about a cowboy who witnesses a herd of cattle driving across the sky who have red eyes and other mystical/apocalyptic features. The cowboy is warned that if he doesn’t change his ways, he will be forced to join the “devil’s herd” across an endless sky; a hellish demise. The song was written in 1948 by Stan Jones and has been covered by numerous artists over the years. Some of the more famous versions were performed by Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Burl Ives, and Vaughn Monroe. Every cover is unique, however they all keep the same spooky undertone that the song carries. It is hard to avoid the daunting message in the lyrics, which is probably one of the reasons that the song still remains a classic hit to this day. Many musicians and artists have profited from using the song and by doing so they have boosted the popularity of it. And as far as we can tell this will probably be the case for many years to come.