"Big Iron" is a western ballad song written and performed by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

. Originally released as an album track on '' Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs'' in September 1959, it was released as a single in February 1960 with the song "Saddle Tramp" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

single. In 2010, members of the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in th ...

chose it as the 11th best Western song of all time. The song follows the story of an Arizona Ranger's duel with a 24-year-old outlaw named Texas Red. Taking place in the "town of Agua Fria", the townspeople predict the death of the ranger. Texas Red, despite having already killed 20 men, is beaten in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

due to the speed of the ranger, and the titular "big iron" gun. The song reached number 5 on the Billboard Country chart and number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in April 1960. The B-side, "Saddle Tramp" was not included on ''Gunfighter Ballads'', but was later placed on Robbins' 1966 LP ''The Drifter''. "Big Iron" is featured in the 2010 video game '' Fallout: New Vegas'' on the in-game radio station. The success 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 An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

, gaining popularity through remixes and parodies.

Personnel

- lead vocals * The Glaser Brothers - backing vocals *

Bob Moore Bob Moore may refer to: * Bob Moore (musician) (1932–2021), American session musician * Bob Moore (executive) (1929–2024), co-founder of Bob's Red Mill * Bob Moore (American football) (born 1949), American football tight end * Bob Moore (Au ...

- bass *

Grady Martin Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' "El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Coal M ...

- lead guitar * Jack H. Pruett - guitar * Louis Dunn - drums *

Don Law Donald Firth Law (February 24, 1902 – December 20, 1982) was an English-American record producer and music business executive. He produced Robert Johnson's only recordings, and as head of Columbia Records' country music division later worked w ...

- production * M.C. Rather - sound mastering * Hollis Flatt - sound mastering

Charts

In albums

*''Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs'' (September 1959), a compilation, CL 1349 - mono, CS 8158 - stereo, PC 8158 *''More Greatest Hits'' (April 1961), CL 1635 - mono, CS 8435 - stereo, PC 8435 *''Bend in the River'' (1968), D 445 - mono (Columbia Musical Treasuries), DS 445 - stereo *''The Heart of Marty Robbins'' (1969), STS 2016 (Columbia Star Series) *''All Time Greatest Hits'' (August 1972), CG 31361, KG 31361, C 31361 *''Marty!'' (1972 - 5 record set), P5S 5812 (Columbia Musical Treasury) *''Streets of Laredo'', KH 32286 (Harmony, August 1973), LE 10576 (Columbia, December 1973) *''Marty Robbins' Own Favorites'' (1974), P 12416 (Columbia Special Products) *''Marty Robbins Gold'' (1975), NU 9060 (K-Tel) *''All Around Cowboy'' (1980) P 15594 *''No. 1 Cowboy'' (1980), P 15594 (re-release of "All Around Cowboy") *''Marty Robbins'' (1981), GS 4003 (History of Country Music, Sunrise Media) *''A Lifetime of Song 1951 - 1982'' (August 1983), C2 38870 *''Memories in Song'' (1983 - 2 record set), P2 19162 (Columbia Special Product) *''The Best Of Marty Robbins'' (1984), RB4-214-1 *''The Essential Marty Robbins:1951-1982'' (1991), Sony Music Entertainment Inc C2T 48537 CT48538 CT 48539 *''Marty Robbins Lost and found'' (1994), Sony Music Entertainment Inc CT 57695 *''Marty Robbins Memories in Song'' (1994), Sony Music Special Products Compact Disc A 19163 *''Marty Robbins Live Concert Versions Of His Greatest Hits'' (1995), Pickwick Group Ltd London England 300382 *''Under Western Skies'' (Oct 1995), Bear Family Records, West Germany 4-CD Box Set BCD 15646 *''Marty Robbins Legendary Country Singers'' (1995), Sony Music Special Products R989-06 PT-25142 *''Story of My Life: Best of Marty Robbins'' (Mar 1996), Sony Music Entertainment Inc Sony CK 64763

Cover versions

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...

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 Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Tracks chart in Canada. Other covers of the song include: *'' Kingfish'' (1976) by Kingfish *''Gun Shot a Cry'' (1983) by Eek-A-Mouse *'' Under the Influences'' (1999) by

Mike Ness Michael James Ness (born April 3, 1962) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. He has also released two solo albums, '' Cheating at Sol ...

*''Big Iron'' (2001) by

Carol Noonan Carol Noonan is an American folk singer/songwriter from Maine. She began her career as the lead singer and songwriter for the band Knots and Crosses. "Crosses" was formed in the late 1980s by Noonan (vocals, guitar), Alan Williams (keyboards, voca ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

, in '' American IV: The Man Comes Around'' (2002). Also included in ''Unearthed'' (2003).
Boltgun
(Warhammer 40k - Big Iron Parody) by TheAnarchistMuffin *

Colter Wall Colter Wall (born June 27, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for his deep, gruff baritone voice and narrative songwriting, Wall's music encompasses Country music, country, Canadian folk music, folk, and Western music (No ...

in '' Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs'' (2020) * ''Big Mandalorian Iron'' (2021) by Kirt Connor, a parody based on ''

The Mandalorian ''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise and begins five years after the events of the fil ...

'' * ''Big Iron'' (2023) by

The Longest Johns The Longest Johns are an English folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and they also comp ...

* ''Big Iron'' (2024) by

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

* ''Big Iron, Banjo Cover'' (29, Aug, 2024) by Talise Tunes * ''Большая пушка'' (2024) by Sunboy

Notes

References

{{authority control Western music (North America) songs 1959 songs Country ballads Murder ballads Marty Robbins songs Johnny Cash songs Songs written by Marty Robbins Michael Martin Murphey songs Columbia Records singles Internet memes introduced in 2019 1950s ballads Song recordings produced by Don Law Fast draw in popular culture Mike Ness Songs