# Marty Robbin's "Big Iron" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 25, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369 "2023-02-25T17:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/1 "2023-02-25T17:43:57Z")
I don’t remember now how I stumbled upon this, but somehow YouTube’s algorithms ending up offering me this animated clip which I think is perfect. 2:24 in particular is a masterpiece of conveying body language with minimal animation. An arrogant swaggering punk who thinks that anyone who challenges him is a soon-to-be-dead fool. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G1NwCnMDoqc/hqdefault.jpg "Big Iron Animated") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1NwCnMDoqc) ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/2 "2023-02-25T18:46:40Z")
Oh, bravo Mr. Wilbanks! I’d like to see other videos by him. I’ve always loved that song and really enjoyed his unusual artistic take on it. “Well he mighta went on livin’ but he made one fatal slip…” ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/3 "2023-02-25T18:52:49Z")
My brother received that album (“Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs”) for his third birthday from an uncle, and we played it over and over and over until we drove Mom crazy! Of course, being little kids we didn’t get the metaphor, so we never understood why an Arizona Ranger would carry around an iron… ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/4 "2023-02-25T19:23:20Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > _My brother received that album (“Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs”) for his third birthday._ I still have the 45 rpm single of “El Paso” (with picture sleeve) that I coerced my mom into buying for me when I was about 8 years old. It’s one of the best “story-song” records ever, and I’m sure my parents grew tired of hearing it! I found the album for $1 at a garage sale about 25 years old. It’s a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/5 "2023-02-25T19:44:14Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > My brother received that album (“Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs”) for his third birthday from an uncle, and we played it over and over and over until we drove Mom crazy! I bought that album in 1959 when it came out and nearly wore it out. The guy had a way with a ballad. I also remember when “Singing The Blues” and “A White Sport Coat” were huge hits. Cripes, I’m old. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/6 "2023-02-25T20:10:42Z")
“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…” Now this may have to be a separate thread, but: if you’d won twenty to-the-death duels in single combat, whether gunfights or as a swordsman or an aerial ace, what could you presume your chances of winning against a random opponent on the 21st duel would be? Does one invoke a normal distribution for this estimate? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/7 "2023-02-25T21:11:56Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > what could you presume your chances of winning against a random opponent on the 21st duel would be? I’d assume success, but not take it for granted. “It isn’t always being fast or even accurate that counts. It’s being willing. I found out early that most men, regardless of cause or need, aren’t willing. They blink an eye or draw a breath before they pull the trigger. I won’t.” John Bernard Books, _The Shootist_ With twenty successful fights, we know he’s willing, and has the skills. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/8 "2023-02-25T22:17:28Z")
Roger Wilbanks is not the only one to do a video of a Marty Robbins song. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LGNU5FkRz7g/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgWyhGMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCa8nLSsS5PYn8oxlnW15Cjt6f4oA "Steve Martin-El Paso") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGNU5FkRz7g) Joking aside, I think my favorite Marty Robbins song is “A Hundred and Sixty Acres”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Vg6JXnQfXGs/maxresdefault.jpg "A Hundred And Sixty Acres") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg6JXnQfXGs) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/9 "2023-02-25T22:42:16Z")
Here’s a more lighthearted take on the song; [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/j_Dyg2Dw5xI/maxresdefault.jpg "Big Iron, but the lyrics are in alphabetical order (LIVE)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_Dyg2Dw5xI) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/10 "2023-02-26T01:29:59Z")
Living in Arizona I’m fond of that song, but the [Arizona Rangers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Rangers) were active from 1901 to 1909, not your classic Wild West period. Also, the ranger’s badge resembled the famous Texas Rangers’ 5-peso badge more than the ball-tipped stat badges the real ones used. [![](https://i0.wp.com/thelastbestwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/arizona_rangers_300.jpg?fit=300%2C298&ssl=1) ](https://i0.wp.com/thelastbestwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/arizona_rangers_300.jpg?fit=300%2C298&ssl=1) Reproduction. The real ones were numbered. [![](https://www.texasranger.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Aten-Badge.jpg) ](https://www.texasranger.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Aten-Badge.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/11 "2023-02-26T05:30:10Z")
Hehehe, I love Marry Robbins, have since I was a kid. Nice video. One nitpick with it, though: it’s really unlikely that Texas Red would have marked his victories on the steel barrel of his gun. That would have required some real work. The soft material of the grips would be a much more likely place to make them. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/12 "2023-02-26T05:34:16Z")
But with one and nineteen more there wouldn’t be enough grip left to get a hold of. I saw the documentary with Huckleberry Hound about it. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/13 "2023-02-26T05:40:24Z")
Hehehehe, thank you, that was a good laugh. If we can talk about other animated videos for classic songs in this thread, I’ve loved this animation for “Me and the Devil Blues” for years. One of the first things that made me really love YouTube, because I’m pretty sure I would have never seen it without them. His shadow seeming to pull him along is particularly great (yes, yes, shadows don’t do that). [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3MCHI23FTP8/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgWig6MA8=&rs=AOn4CLDsF8OxoniG85bBnVKQZKVa6o4pEQ "Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MCHI23FTP8) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/14 "2023-02-26T05:55:19Z")
“Big Iron” is one of the better songs from Fallout: New Vegas, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/15 "2023-02-26T08:45:23Z")
Shouldn’t Texas Red have red hair? I mean, it’s kind of red in certain lights, but it’s basically brown. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/16 "2023-02-26T11:03:13Z")
I love the fact that a town with population 150 has enough business for a full-time Notary Public. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marty-robbins-big-iron/980369/17 "2023-02-26T18:20:20Z")
Sure, the first ten times you hear it. Then it becomes just as tedious as the rest of them. Then it’s radio off.