Silver Stallion still rides on
A student reads The Highwaymen's “Silver Stallion” as a story about love, friendship and adventure rather than a song about a horse.
The group “The Highwaymen,” composed of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings was a band that made more than music; they wrote and sang stories. You might not think much of the lyrics but they all tell a story. One of their most popular songs is “Silver Stallion.”
“Silver Stallion” is about more than a horse. It’s about an adventure with the stallion. When Kris sings [about teaching the horse to trust him like a brother so that one day they can saddle up and ride], it may mean more than just making a bond with his horse, it refers to the “Highwaymen” themselves. It is the bond between them, it’s their adventure, their friendship, their story.
Love has a lot to do with this group, whether it is one at a time or one forever. That is what Waylon means when he sings [about finding a reckless woman with danger in her eyes]. They all want something special with someone and a little adventure in that “reckless woman.”
Willie sang [about chasing the sky forever with the woman and the stallion], which means he wants his stallion and his woman by his side at all times, to help him through the sad, sick, happy and poor moments. This whole song is a metaphor about how they think life should be spent. It’s not all about money or fame and much less power. The songs are metaphors for what life is about: love and adventure.
Johnny Cash leads the chorus where they all sing together [about riding on like the one-eyed jack of diamonds with the devil close behind]. This means they are always having such a good time that they do one thing then move on to the next when they “ride like the one eyed jack of diamonds.” They are just talking about moving on from everything sadness, death and even themselves at one point.
This song is a metaphor on how to live life to the fullest and saying goodbye when they have to. This song is a story about life, a story about love, a story about a “Silver Stallion.”
About the song itself
“Silver Stallion” opens Highwayman 2, the second album by the country supergroup of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. The album came out on February 27, 1990, and the song had been released as a single, backed with “American Remains,” in January 1990.
The four did not write it. The song is credited to Lee Clayton, a songwriter whose work several outlaw country artists recorded.
The group made one more studio album, The Road Goes On Forever, in 1995. By the time this piece ran in 2016, Jennings (2002) and Cash (2003) had both died. Kris Kristofferson died on September 28, 2024, which left Willie Nelson as the last living member of the four riders in the song the student wrote about.
Questions people ask
Who wrote “Silver Stallion”?
“Silver Stallion” was written by Lee Clayton. The best known version is by The Highwaymen, the country supergroup of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, who released it as a single in January 1990, backed with “American Remains.” The song opens their second album, Highwayman 2.
What album is “Silver Stallion” on?
The Highwaymen recording is the first track on Highwayman 2, released on February 27, 1990. It was the group’s second album, after Highwayman in 1985. Their third and last studio album, The Road Goes On Forever, followed in 1995. Highwayman 2 earned the group a Grammy nomination.
