Big Iron Lyrics by Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins Lyrics
To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day
Hardly spoke to folks around him didn't have too much to say
No one dared to ask his business no one dared to make a slip
for the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
It was early in the morning when he rode into the town
He came riding from the south side slowly lookin' all around
He's an outlaw loose and running came the whisper from each lip
And he's here to do some business with the big iron on his hip
big iron on his hip
In this town there lived an outlaw by the name of Texas Red
Many men had tried to take him and that many men were dead
He was vicious and a killer though a youth of twenty four
And the notches on his pistol numbered one an nineteen more
One and nineteen more
Now the stranger started talking made it plain to folks around
Was an Arizona ranger wouldn't be too long in town
He came here to take an outlaw back alive or maybe dead
And he said it didn't matter he was after Texas Red
After Texas Red
Wasn't long before the story was relayed to Texas Red
But the outlaw didn't worry men that tried before were dead
Twenty men had tried to take him twenty men had made a slip
Twenty one would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
The morning passed so quickly it was time for them to meet
It was twenty past eleven when they walked out in the street
Folks were watching from the windows every-body held their breath
They knew this handsome ranger was about to meet his death
About to meet his death
There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play
And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today
Texas Red had not cleared leather fore a bullet fairly ripped
And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
It was over in a moment and the folks had gathered round
There before them lay the body of the outlaw on the ground
Oh he might have went on living but he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
Song Facts:
- Genre: Country
- Lyricist: Marty Robbins
- Awards: It has often been cited as the one with the narrative quality in the vocal performance by Robbins.
Artist Info:
Marty Robbins is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-talented instrumentalist with a deep, smooth voice—styled as Country, Rockabilly, and Pop across genres. Born in Glendale, Arizona, in the year 1925, Robbins went on to become one of the topmost country and Western singers of his time. His songs carried many a time romantic and nostalgic lyrics to some level of Western or country flavor. Robbins was a very great guitarist and prolific songwriter, with a lot of acting in so many films, and even a television show named after him. His music left its indelible mark on country music and influenced a host of artists who came after him.
Annotations and Meaning:
The song "Big Iron" presents the track of an Arizona Ranger who has come to town in pursuit of one Texas Red—a mighty, famous outlaw. The long-anticipated confrontation, the townsfolk expected, with a mixture of awe and horror, knowing that such deadliness resides in each man.
The narrative structure of "Big Iron" bears uncanny semblance to a showdown in a classical Western, befitting justice, courage, and the singular champion. "With the big iron on his hip," it represents the Ranger as the symbol of law and order, while Texas Red represents chaos and a world without rules. The detailed portrayal of the gunfight and how the Ranger was speedy and precise in shooting to death his opponents excessively harped on qualities that are often put on the pinnacle in Western folklore: precision, coolness under pressure, and moral uprightness.
These lines "twenty men had tried to take him, twenty men had made a slip" just add up to Texas Red's legend but also build up suspense for the Ranger's skills and fate. This adds a certain layer of inevitability to the encounter, suggesting that come whatever odds, this Ranger is not like the others that have come before him.
It's the point in the song, where the Ranger kills Texas Red, that the words bring to mind the delicate balance of life and death in the wild west and how a gun oftentimes made and broke reputations. The line "Oh, he might have gone on living, but he made one fatal slip" speaks very well to that idea that gunfights had something rather fateful about them, in which one mistake could mean a life.
Marty Robbins Chords
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Marty Robbins Chords
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