1 recordings 1.1 1948 1.2 1949 1.3 1950s 1.4 1960s 1.5 1970s 1.6 1980s 1.7 1990s 1.8 2000s 1.9 2010s 1.10 additional versions 1.11 non-english versions 1.11.1 finnish 1.11.2 french 1.11.3 german 1.11.4 italian 1.11.5 lithuanian 1.11.6 portuguese 1.11.7 spanish recordings 1948 the original version stan jones recorded in late 1948, , composer eden ahbez sent song burl ives, recorded own version year later. 1949 burl ives recorded song on february 17, 1949, , song released columbia records catalog no. 38445. recording first appeared on billboard charts on april 22, 1949, lasting 6 weeks , peaking @ no. 21. the version vaughn monroe , orchestra vaughn monroe , moon men on vocals, recorded on march 14, 1949, , released rca victor records catalog no. 20-3411 (in usa) , emi on master s voice label catalog no. bd 1247, hn 3014, hq 2071, im 1425 , gy 878. recording first appeared on billboard charts on april 15, 1949, lasting 22 weeks , reaching no. 1. billboard ranked n...