Discover the story of the song > Big Iron – Michael Martin Murphey

The song is about a stranger who arrives in a town with a big gun on his hip. The townsfolk whisper that he's an outlaw, but the stranger claims to be an Arizona ranger and says he's after a killer named Texas Red. Texas Red is known to be vicious and a skilled shooter, but the ranger is faster and kills him in a shoot-out. The song ends with the townsfolk marveling at the ranger's skill and noting that Texas Red might have survived if he hadn't tried to match the ranger's prowess with a gun.