"Ribbon of Darkness" is a song written by

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

that was released in 1965 as a single by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

. The song was Robbins' eleventh number one on the U.S. country singles chart, where it spent one week at the top and a total of nineteen weeks on the chart. Lightfoot's own version was released as single in 1965 and included in his 1966 debut album '' Lightfoot!'' and again for his 1975 compilation album '' Gord's Gold''. The latter recording features the song in a medley with " I'm Not Sayin'", as does the live recording from Lightfoot's 1969 '' Sunday Concert'' album.

Other cover versions

*In 1969,

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

made the top 20 on the country chart with her version, peaking at #13. * Crystal Gayle sang the song in her first television appearance. and she released as the first single from her twenty sixth studio album You Don't Know Me: Classic Country in 2019. Her first single in 16 years. * Jack Scott, 1950's rock 'n' roll legend, recorded the song for his 2015 release ''Way to Survive''. *Canadian singer-songwriter

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

contributed a cover of the song to the 2003 tribute album '' Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot''.

Chart performance

Marty Robbins

Connie Smith

References

1965 singles Marty Robbins songs 1969 singles Connie Smith songs Songs written by Gordon Lightfoot United Artists Records singles Columbia Records singles 1965 songs {{1960s-country-song-stub