"Big Iron"
"Big Iron" and "Saddle Tramp" by Marty Robbins
Single by Marty Robbins
from the album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
B-side"Saddle Tramp"
ReleasedFebruary 22, 1960[1]
RecordedApril 7, 1959 (1959-04-07)
Genre
Length3:57
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Marty Robbins
Producer(s)Don Law
Marty Robbins singles chronology
"El Paso"
(1959) 		"Big Iron"
(1960) 		"Is There Any Chance"
(1960)

"Big Iron" is a country ballad written and performed by Marty Robbins, originally released as an album track on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959, then as a single in February 1960 with the song "Saddle Tramp" as the B-side single.[2] Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[3]

It tells the story of an Arizona Ranger's duel with a 24-year-old outlaw named Texas Red in the "town of Agua Fria."[a] The townspeople predict the death of the ranger; an unconcerned Texas Red having already killed "one and nineteen" men, but at the moment they meet, the ranger kills Texas Red with the "big iron on his hip." The ranger's draw was so swift, that Texas Red had not even "cleared leather,"[b] killing the outlaw in one shot.

The song reached number 5 on the Billboard Country chart and number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1960.[4] The B-side, "Saddle Tramp" was not included on Gunfighter Ballads,[2] but was later placed on Robbins' 1966 LP The Drifter.[5]

"Big Iron" is featured in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas on the in-game radio stations. The popularity of the game helped spur a revival of interest in Robbins' music in the 21st century. In the decade following Fallout: New Vegas's release, "Big Iron" became an Internet meme, gaining popularity through remixes and Photoshop parodies as well as its use on YouTube.[6]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1960-1961) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 67
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 26
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 5

In albums

Cover versions

Michael Martin Murphey covered the song on his 1993 album Cowboy Songs III. With the Robbins family's blessing, the song was recorded as a duet with Robbins. It was released as a single and peaked at number 62 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.[10]

Other covers of the song include:

Notes

  1. ^ It is suggested that the "town of Agua Fria" is Agua Fria, New Mexico; see "Research - Big Iron The Book". Archived from the original on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  2. ^ slang for drawing a firearm out of its holster

References

  1. ^ "Marty Robbins – Big Iron". Discogs.com. 22 February 1960. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  2. ^ a b "Marty Robbins - Big Iron". 45cat.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 533.
  5. ^ "The Drifter - Marty Robbins | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  6. ^ Feldman, Brian (2019-02-13). "How the 60-Year-Old Country Song 'Big Iron' Became an Enduring Meme". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  7. ^ "Marty Robbins – (({song))}". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  8. ^ "Marty Robbins Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  9. ^ "Marty Robbins Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  10. ^ "RPM Country Tracks". RPM. December 25, 1993. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  11. ^ "Cover versions of Big Iron by Johnny Cash". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
Categories