Stampede
Chris Ledoux Lyrics


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We made camp along the river
Watch the cattle
As they bend down
Back at the wagons

Right after supper
Spread the bed rolls
On the ground
Me an willie

We took the night guard
And the sage
Never smelled so sweet
The prairie moon

Was blazin silver
No chance tonight
For stampede
We rode off yonder

In the distance
Towards the mountains
There in the west
Then I see lightening

And I hear thunder
My mind is weary I could use some rest
Then all at once
The wind shifts directions

The clouds roll in
Behind the tumble weeds
These longhorn cattle
Are gettin restless

God help us all
If they stampede
Smell the rain
And hear the thunder

The midnight sky
Turns balck as death
Lightening crashes
Smell the sulfur

It's rank and strong
As satan's breath
The cattle rise up
And go around

I steer my pony
On to take a lead
And across the heard
I can hear willie yellin

Hey stampede
Dust clouds ride
As the rain falls
They mix together

Turn the air to mud
I feel the longhorns
Brush against me
And I can feel the demons

Racin through my blood
And all at once
My pony stumbles
We hit the ground

And I rise
Up to my knees
And flash a light
I can see the cattle comin

Lord I know
I'm gonna die
In this stampede
Then I wait

And I look around
I'm in my bed roll
And I;m layin on the ground
Over there's a wagon

And there's the campfire
I was only dreamin
But what's that sound
Then I feel the earth

Tremble beneath me
As the midnight sky
Begins to bleed
And from the blackness





I can hear willie yellin
Hey stampede

Overall Meaning

The song "Stampede" by Chris Ledoux is a western-themed narrative ballad that tells the story of a cowboys' experience during a cattle drive. The lyrics portray the peaceful routine of cowboys camping by the river, watching over their cattle, and enjoying the prairie's beauty until a storm front arrives suddenly. The singer is aware of the dangers that can result from a cattle stampede caused by thunder and lightning, and the vivid details of the lyrics describe the atmospheric change, the crushing sound of the hooves, and the fear of death that a cowboy feels, trying to stop the herd. Later on, the lyrics allude to the cowboy's nightmare, in which he again faces a stampede, but this time it is just a dream. But even within his dream, he hears Willie yelling, "Hey, stampede."


The song's poetic narrative takes listeners on a journey that highlights the beauty and dangers of the American West's cowboy lifestyle. The lyrics' vividness reflects Ledoux's first-hand experience as a bronco rider and a rancher before becoming a renowned country singer. The song's theme can be interpreted as an allegory for life's unexpected hardships that keep people restless, regardless of their state of being. It can also be viewed as a metaphor for facing one's fears and taking control of the situation by summoning courage and fortitude, similar to cowboys prevailing over stampedes.


Line by Line Meaning

We made camp along the river
We stopped by the river and set up camp.


Watch the cattle
We kept an eye on the cattle, making sure they were okay.


As they bend down
As the cattle grazed on the grass.


Back at the wagons
The wagons were parked behind us.


Right after supper
After we finished eating dinner.


Spread the bed rolls
We laid out our bed rolls.


On the ground
We put our bed rolls on the dirt.


Me an willie
My friend Willie and I.


We took the night guard
We took turns keeping watch at night.


And the sage
And we could smell the sagebrush.


Never smelled so sweet
It smelled really good, like perfume.


The prairie moon
The moon that was shining on the prairie.


Was blazin silver
It was very bright and shining brightly.


No chance tonight
There was no chance that anything bad would happen tonight.


For stampede
There was no chance of the cattle stampeding tonight.


We rode off yonder
We rode off into the distance.


In the distance
Far away, on the horizon.


Towards the mountains
In the direction of the mountains.


There in the west
Over in the western part of the sky.


Then I see lightning
I saw a flash of lightning in the sky.


And I hear thunder
I heard the sound of thunder rumbling in the sky.


My mind is weary I could use some rest
I was tired and could use some sleep.


Then all at once
Suddenly, without warning.


The wind shifts directions
The wind changed direction.


The clouds roll in
The clouds started moving in towards us.


Behind the tumble weeds
In the area where tumbleweeds were blowing.


These longhorn cattle
The cattle with the long horns.


Are gettin restless
The cows are starting to become agitated and nervous.


God help us all
Oh my God, please help us!


If they stampede
If the cattle start running away in a panic.


Smell the rain
I could smell the rain coming.


And hear the thunder
I could also hear the thunder getting closer.


The midnight sky
The sky in the middle of the night.


Turns balck as death
The sky turned dark and foreboding like death.


Lightening crashes
There were flashes of lightning illuminating the sky.


Smell the sulfur
I could smell the sulfur that the lightning makes.


It's rank and strong
The smell is unpleasant and overpowering.


As satan's breath
The smell was so bad that it reminded me of something coming from Satan.


The cattle rise up
The cattle started to stand up and become agitated.


And go around
They started moving in circles or bunching up.


I steer my pony
I guide my horse.


On to take a lead
I guide my horse to the front of the herd.


And across the heard
I move across the herd.


I can hear willie yellin
I could hear my friend Willie yelling something.


Hey stampede
He was yelling to warn me that a cattle stampede was about to happen.


Dust clouds ride
Dusty clouds were forming and moving.


As the rain falls
It started to rain.


They mix together
The dust from the cattle and the rain mixed together.


Turn the air to mud
The combination of rain and dust made the air feel heavy and muddy.


I feel the longhorns
I felt the longhorn's horns brush against me.


Brush against me
The cow's horns touched me lightly.


And I can feel the demons
I felt like something evil was happening.


Racin through my blood
I felt an adrenaline rush.


And all at once
Suddenly, all of a sudden.


My pony stumbles
My horse stumbled and tripped.


We hit the ground
We fell off the horse.


And I rise
I got back up.


Up to my knees
I was up to my knees in mud.


And flash a light
I used a flashlight.


I can see the cattle comin
I saw the cattle running towards me.


Lord I know
Oh my God, I know.


I'm gonna die
I thought that I was going to die.


In this stampede
If the cattle stampede, I thought that I would die.


Then I wait
I just waited for the inevitable.


And I look around
I looked around in confusion.


I'm in my bed roll
I was back in my bed roll.


And I'm layin on the ground
I was lying on the ground.


Over there's a wagon
I saw a wagon nearby.


And there's the campfire
I saw the campfire burning.


I was only dreamin
It was just a dream.


But what's that sound
I heard a sound and it made me wonder.


Then I feel the earth
I started to feel a vibration in the ground.


Tremble beneath me
The ground started to shake.


As the midnight sky
It was the middle of the night.


Begins to bleed
The sky started turning a red color.


And from the blackness
From the darkness of the night.


I can hear willie yellin
I heard Willie yelling again.


Hey stampede
He was warning me that a cattle stampede was happening again.




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CHRIS LEDOUX

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Ryan Wolf

I just love Chris.  I bet todays "country singers" couldn't have spent a minute in his boots.  Most underrated singer ever in my opinion.

Faine

Chris and Ned are 100% Top 5 underrated singers.

Scott Vester

So true

CHRISTY Morss

Especially remembering that he was a working Cowboy and pro rodeo competitor. Gotta love Chris.

Kalley Haeussler

I swear he's the most underrated artist of all time I straight up cry every time I hear his music because I know I'll never see him in concert that would be a dream come true, he's my favorite artist and always will be

WildManFyfe

He past away :(

shaleknight 62

Kalley Haeussler I totally agree with you

Chris Crawford

I seen him in concert in Germany. When I was in the army.

Chris Crawford

Kalley Haeussler his son Ned has a band and play his dad's music. He's got video here on YouTube

American Antler Hunter

Ned is his son following his music career, and he is awesome in concert.

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