After five seasons as beloved ranch hand Walker on Yellowstone, Ryan Bingham has written his first song for the wild western drama.
On December 13, 2024, the New Mexico-born, Texas-raised singer released “A Song For The Stone,” a somber and haunting ballad that fans of the hit show might recognize from Season 5, Episode 9.
The tune played just before cutting to credits as Rip and his crew of cattle wranglers — Teeter, Ryan, Jake, and Walker — settled down in camp for the night. The ever stoic Rip looked over and said, “Walker, go on and sing us a sad song,” and the cowpoke abided, jumping into the song’s third verse. “The cowboys were here and one day they’re gone / Nothing left but an airport sleeping on the graves of Indian bones / On the graves of Indian bones,” no doubt a reference to the airport development that threatens both the sacred land and the cowboy way of life.
In addition to touching on current events at the ranch, “A Song For The Stone” also conveys the pride of working on Montana’s breathtaking land. The lyrics“Ride high and shoot low from the saddle when you ride for the Yellowstone” and “There’s always a train at the station on the Yellowstone” foreshadows what will happen to those that cross the land or the people who work it.
Although Bingham has had over 12 original compositions featured on Yellowstone, “A Song For The Stone” is the first tune he has written specifically for the show. Bingham says he waited deliberately to craft a song that felt authentic to the story, characters, and his own experience as part of the Yellowstone family. The result is a poignant number expertly placed in a series that has been ahead of the curve in using its soundtrack to elevate the on-screen action.
“I’d like to dedicate this song to all the Yellowstone fans out there, all the cast and crew, and all the folks that have made this whole thing possible over the years,” Bingham said in a press release. “It’s been a pretty amazing journey, and I’m honored to just be a part of. It’s taken me a while to write this song, but sometimes you’ve got to live it before you can write it.”
Accompanying the single’s release via The Bingham Recording Co. and Thirty Tigers is an acoustic fireside rendition that feels like it was set on the same dusty patch of dirt as the Yellowstone scene. Unlike the show, this video gives us the full song in all its glory, with only Bingham and his acoustic guitar to guide us.
It’s a long way from the sound on his previous release, Live From Red Rocks (feat. The Texas Gentlemen), a 16-song collection that includes cuts of other songs Bingham has performed on Yellowstone like “The Other Side,” “Sunrise,” “Hallelujah,” “The Weary Kind,” “Nobody Knows My Trouble,” and “Bread & Water.”
Season 5 — and perhaps the entire Yellowstone series — is set to conclude on Sunday, December 15. With so many loose ends to tie up, the finale is sure to be full of many more emotional and high intensity moments, and its soundtrack is likely to play a big role in amplifying those feelings.
Stream the brand-new song on Spotify, Apple Music, or your favorite music platform.
