"Big Iron" is a country ballad

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 by Marty Robbins

Marty Robbins

Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...

, originally released as an album track on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs is an album released by Marty Robbins on the Columbia Records label in September 1959, peaking at #6 on the U.S. pop albums chart. It was recorded on April 7, 1959...

 in September 1959, then as a single in February 1960.

It tells the story of an unnamed Arizona Ranger

Arizona Rangers

The Arizona Rangers is an Arizona law enforcement agency modeled on the Texas Rangers. The Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, disbanded in 1909, and subsequently reformed in 1957. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws in the sparsely...

's duel with an outlaw named Texas Red in the town of Agua Fria, Arizona. The town predicts the death of the Ranger (Texas Red had already killed 20 men), but the Ranger kills Texas Red with the "swiftness" of the "big iron on his hip." Breaking the tradition of Western

Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

 showdowns taking place at high noon, the duel begins at 11:20 AM.

Robbins' version of the song reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart in April 1960.

The song is also featured in the video game Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...

.

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)
• Kingfish (1976)
• 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
• Michael Martin Murphey: Cowboy Songs III (Duet with Robbins with family's blessing)(1993) Warner Western 45423-2
• 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
• Under the Influences
  Under the Influences
  Under the Influences, the second solo album from Social Distortion's Mike Ness, is a compilation of country, rock, and bluegrass covers released just six months after his first solo effort, Cheating at Solitaire. As the title implies, Ness intends the album to be an illustration of the music that...
  
   (1999) by Mike Ness
  Mike Ness
  Mike Ness is an American guitarist, vocalist, and chief songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. As of Dennis Danell's death in 2000, he is now the only original member of the band...
  
  
• Big Iron (2001) by Carol Noonan
  Carol Noonan
  Carol Noonan is an American folk singer/songwriter from New England, USA.She began her career as the lead singer and songwriter for the band Knots and Crosses. "Crosses" was formed in the late 1980s by Carol Noonan , Alan Williams and Rick Harris all were students at the New England Conservatory...
  
  
• Unearthed (2003) by Johnny Cash
  Johnny Cash
  John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
  
  
• Songs From The Mojave Wasteland (2010) soundtrack from Fallout: New Vegas
  Fallout: New Vegas
  Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...