"The Cry of the Wild Goose" is a 1950 song written by

Terry Gilkyson Terry Gilkyson (June 17, 1916 — October 15, 1999) was an American folk singer and songwriter. Biography Gilkyson was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island in 1935. By his early ...

. Originally performed by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...

, the song was the third of three consecutive number-one hits for him, following the previous year's hits "

That Lucky Old Sun "That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls around Heaven All Day)" is a 1949 popular song with music by Beasley Smith and words by Haven Gillespie. Background Like "Ol' Man River", its lyrics contrast the toil and intense hardship of the singer's life w ...

" and "

Mule Train "Mule Train" is a popular song written by Johnny Lange, Hy Heath, Ramblin' Tommy Scott and Fred Glickman. It is a cowboy song, with the singer filling the role of an Old West wagon driver, spurring on his team of mules pulling a delivery wagon. ...

". The song was released on

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

in early 1950 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

with a catalog number of 5363. The Laine version spent two weeks at number-one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Most Played by Jockeys

music chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

in March 1950. The song was later covered by

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

. It was the uncredited theme song for the 1950 motion picture release '' Saddle Tramp''. In a 1986 episode of ''

Life With Lucy ''Life with Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball that aired for one season on ABC from September 20 to November 15, 1986. It is the only Lucille Ball sitcom to not air on CBS and the very last sitcom she starred in before her death ...

'',

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

’s character talks about having an answering machine answer her call. She states that before she could leave a message, she had to listen to Frankie Laine sing "I must go where the wild goose goes", in reference to the lyrics to the song.

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

covered the song on 2003's ''

Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy ''Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy'' is the eleventh solo album from American musician Brian Setzer, released in 2003 on Surfdog Records. He said, when released, that it was the most personal record he had ever done. He ventured away from his traditiona ...

'', changing the title and lyrics to "wild wind" rather than "wild goose".

References

1950 songs 1950 singles Frankie Laine songs Mercury Records singles Number-one singles in the United States Songs written by Terry Gilkyson {{1950s-pop-song-stub