Big Iron | The Longest Johns
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- Опубліковано 5 гру 2023
- Voyage, New Album Preorder is now live, as well as our Voyage World Tour now being on sale!! Visit our website for all the info... www.thelongestjohns.com
Written by Marty Robbins, but sung by many, Big Iron is a big favourite of ours. Many came to know it from the game Fallout, and we're thrilled to bring you our interpretation!
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The Longest Johns
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Lyrics:
To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day
Hardly spoke to folks around him, didn't have too much to say
No one dared to ask his business, no one dared to make a slip
For the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
It was early in the morning when he rode into the town
He came riding from the south side slowly lookin' all around
He's an outlaw loose and running, came the whisper from each lip
And he's here to do some business with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
In this town there lived an outlaw by the name of Texas Red
Many men had tried to take him and that many men were dead
He was vicious and a killer though a youth of 24
And the notches on his pistol numbered one and 19 more
One and 19 more
Now the stranger started talking, made it plain to folks around
Was an Arizona ranger, wouldn't be too long in town
He came here to take an outlaw back alive or maybe dead
And he said it didn't matter he was after Texas Red
After Texas Red
Wasn't long before the story was relayed to Texas Red
But the outlaw didn't worry men that tried before were dead
20 men had tried to take him, 20 men had made a slip
21 would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
Well the morning passed so quickly, it was time for them to meet
It was 20 past 11 when they walked out in the street
Folks were watching from the windows, everybody held their breath
They knew this handsome ranger was about to meet his death
About to meet his death
There was 40 feet between them when they stopped to make their play
And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today
Texas Red had not cleared leather 'fore a bullet fairly ripped
And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
It was over in a moment and the folks had gathered round
There before them lay the body of the outlaw on the ground
Oh, he might have went on living but he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
Big iron, big iron
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip
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Please do Sam Hall! I've been listening to your old Just the Songs videos, and it's such a beautiful song.
defo buying this
RAD!
Smell me business bossman
This video conclusively proves that the swiftness of the ranger is in fact still talked about to this day.
True fact
Huge if true
word
This comment wins
Dunedain or Gondorian?
"Truth is, the Johns were long from the start."
-Benny, definitely
Made me spit my water out😂
I hope this doesn't cause some kind of... Fallout between us. Fallout: New Vegas.
You're listening to Radio New Vegas. I'm your host, Mister New Vegas, reminding you there's always someone who loves you. It's me. I love you. This next song goes out from me, to you. Enjoy.
I wish we could have met him
@@FreshBarn Me too, I wonder how'd he'd look like.
@@dooms_s it's not necessarily canon because there's no in-game evidence for this, but according to a developer interview Mr New Vegas is an AI created by Mr House and has no physical body
this song make me want to play New Vegas. played it only one time but i did not get into it really.
@@Shinraxis The whole radio playlist is great.
As an American, I can’t tell you how surreal it is hearing westerns sung in a British accent.
Same! Super fun though.
When we sing them, it comes across as more traditional folk music than western, but I like it
Western country feels the Folkiest of the country subtypes to me. Idk, the guitar work or storytelling.
@@scottwallace5239well I mean the UK accent is just fast southern soooooo (seriously British folks just need to slow their speech and draw out certain syllables and you get like half of the southeast’s accents)
Edit: typo
@@centurion7993 ...*which* UK accent though? lol Because you have Southeast, Estuary, London, Standard, Queens (King's now I guess), Northern (and it's myriad variations), West country (Pirate), Suffolk (Farmer Pirate) etc etc lol
The one closest to the Older American accent (ie when you guys first went over) would be West Country, which is how most of England at least originally spoke before the Great Vowel Shift ended and we dropped most of our R's. Some of Shakespeare's plays are still performed in Original Pronunciation. You should check out "Original Pronunciation - Hamlet" by Ben Crystal here on youtube :)
My wife thought for the longest time that the "big iron" on his hip was like a tire iron, and now I can't imagine it any other way
Goddammit same lol
I can't decide whether it's funnier to imagine the tire iron also being a firearm, or the Ranger throwing it so hard that the narrator mistakes it for a bullet as it brains Texas Red.
Either that or a golf club, eh
@@tyrians He was going for the White Line Nightmare challenge, clearly.
@@glowstickofdestiny1290 or maybe he had his gun on the other hip and the iron was unrelated
Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a Nuclear winter!
In all seriousness, y'all did a fantastic job with this. I will definitely be listening to this on repeat for the next week.
I think you mean the Sonoran... Mojave is a different desert. Ask me how I know.
Nice comment. I’m about to start a new character and play that holodeck program. Fallout New Vegas is a great escape from real life. Might try not to add a few perks and hit points at the beginning to make it a “tad” easier for once.
Funny. This song reminded me of the Mojave right away too
@@jackielinde7568I think you don't know Fallout: New Vegas?
I love Fallout New Vegas one of the best games ever made after they patched it ofc, apparently there was that many bugs on launch they could of wrote a book 🤣
@@fionasabreNooo... But I know about "The Valley of the Sun!" other wise know as THE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA!!! Why is this relevant? Well, did you know that there really is a town called Agua Fria, Arizona? I didn't until hearing this song. And do you know where that song is located? In the Phoenix Metropolitan Area... Next to Sun City, Youngtown, El Mirage... And reasonably close to, oh, I don't know. Phoenix Arizona! Yeah, My home town. the place I lived MOST of my life. (I really need to get out more and do some traveling.) Except that Phoenix isn't IN the Mojave Desert. It's in The Sonoran Desert. Want to know a big clue? You know all those big cacti with the upraised arm like they've participated in one too many UA-cam comment sections and just given up? The Saguaro? Yeah, you don't find those in the Mojave. You only find them in the Sonora: Arizona, New Mexico, and the Mexican State of Sonora.
To me, this cover feels like a poignant tale of caution, while the original feels like an exciting eyewitness account. I love when covers add a different narrative perspective. Both versions are beautiful.
If you want another angle, try Johnny Cash's cover from late in his career. Like most of his music from the time, it's got a sense of profound sorrow, almost like it's being performed by the ranger late in his life looking back on his life and decisions.
@@Mildcat743 Ooooh thank you!
@@Mildcat743 I am a huge Johnny Cash fan and I never knew he did a cover of this song!
My favorite is likely the Colter Wall one. It's really got a vibe of man, you messed with the wrong one
@@Mildcat743
Personally, I think it sounds a bit like an older resident of Agua Frea recounting the tale to the young'uns. A man who's old enough to realize that what happened that day wasn't good-Texas Red may have been vicious and a killer, but he was only a youth of twenty-four. He hadn't yet hit his thirties, yet he'd already made the choices that led to his untimely and tragic demise. Hell, it could be Red's father or his brother still mourning Red's loss despite everything.
"There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play"
"And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today"
Chills, every time.
For me its, "Texas Red had not cleared leather 'fore a bullet fairly ripped"
Which, considering that we are talking about it today, is a perfectly accurate statement.
"Texas red had not cleared leather" is one of those harmonies that sends you reeling what it comes around
"...what in the goddamn?"
Never crossed my mind, Sea Shanty singers play a full Marty Robbins.
Like always, most adequate.
The original really makes you feel the enormity and finality of taking a life, like the singer saw the shooting and is still traumatized by it. This version sounds more relaxed, like the singer's son or grandson is singing it as a way of honoring his ancestors and their way of life.
The Biggest Iron
These men are magicians on their instruments, I've never heard anything bad come from their mouths, they're truly amazing, and their legacy will live on in many of us for a while ❤😊
Their legacy will live on for ever!😁😍
They are great. However the vibe the original gave out was more inclined as a bard from the old west. This one sounds more modern and less feeling to it.
@@thecollectorcorner1519 i'll agree, the way Marty Robins conveys feelings in his songs is incredible, but these guys can do it to, if you listen to a song like Ashes.
Pirating in the caribbean almost makes you wish for the North Sea winter
Fallout: New Bristol
Fallout: New Vegas brought me here.
New Vegas is still my all time favorite Fallout game
Haven't heard this since I was a pre-teen - and that was near 60 years ago! Well done, boys. Brought a smile to this old face 🙂
I'm always amazed with the way that Andy doesn't look like his hands are doing much but he makes that banjo sing like no other! In fact everyone always looks so comfortable with their instruments as if playing them is no different then twiddling their thumbs! Amazing job as always, lads!
I do love it when you guys do American folk music, it sounds awesome.
I also play this song on my banjo a lot, but I play it completely differently! That's also very fun to see.
Do you also play it clawhammer? How do you do it? I'm also banjoing this in these days =)
@@manuarteteco6153 Yes, I do play it clawhammer! But I play it in open G tuning, with Em and C chords.
Marty Robbins is smiling from the great beyond right now. :)
Oh my sweet sarsaparilla stars, this is beautiful.
Patrolling the Mojave Almost Makes You Wish For a Nuclear Winter
My dad is a massive fan of that era of C&W, and I grew up with artists like Jim Reeves, Kris Kristofferson and Marty Robbins. You have done such a good job with this cover. 👏👏👏👏
Marty Robbins has a gunfighter album back in the day my dad loved his voice and had all his albums. Love this Aloha.❤❤
I flipped the rangers gender and always sing this when my two year old plays on her rocking horse
Nice.
Marty Robbins is one of my favourite country artists, and I'm always apprehensive about covers, but you gents smashed it. A fantastic performance. I'd not heard of you before stumbling across this video, but I'm going to take a deep dive now!
You heard us! There was a lot of people who wanted this song after the chill halloween stream. Love that you stretched the end of the chorus a little, it sounds great. Lovely harmonies as always, and Andy's voice is as beautiful as ever.
A more random thing.. I haven't noticed before that the Megalodeon has a megalodon tooth as the A. I've watched a lot of fossil hunting videos, and they sometimes find megalodon teeth. And every time I see the word written, for a split second I read it as megalodeon.
Andy's phrasing is perfect, too!
i dont think its a tooth i think its a jaws type pov of a shark head
@@themangoartificer882 Hmm, maybe you're right. Oh well, it resembles a megalodon tooth too though, so I like it anyway. Shark mouth or shark tooth, not too far apart!
The longest johns and big iron was a cover no one expected but nobody knew they needed
Marty Robbins is a favorite of our family. Glad to see you folks keeping alive his memory by playing this song. More Marty Robbins’ songs please.
I fell in love with this song playing Fallout New Vegas. It always made me feel nostalgic because I love old country. I remember listening to it with my dad who has since past. You guys have definitely done a worthy remake. Thank you for this.
It's 2024 and the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about
You all did a fantastic cover. I am a big fan of all of your songs, but, as an American, it really resonated with me on this one. Thank you for giving us Yanks a nod, despite our troubles. It really means a lot.
On top of being a wonderful tune, this song is also a brilliantly constructed story.
It doesn't simply describe a gunfight, it takes its time building the mythos of each of the participants. It finely details both their skill and willingness to kill, and painting both participants as being so skilled and with a strong reputation makes the encounter more gripping.
Not only that, but it also creates a beautifully executed tension. Notice how, although the song clearly respects both of its main characters, it bets *against* the ranger in its language. It understates, but doesn't under*estimate*, the skill of the ranger, but commits lines to the viciousness and body count of Texas Red. It also condemns the Ranger to be the 21st notch on Red's gun.
You can even tell that the locals of Agua Fria had lived under the shadow of the unkillable Texas Red for so long that they had no hope that the Ranger would ever match him, to the point that they prematurely mourn him.
This seeding of tension is part of what makes the payoff so satisfying. The other part is how the latter half of the song seems to be narrating the standoff in real time. It does a great deal to convince the audience of the swiftness of the Ranger by spending very few words on the actual gunfight, snapping quickly to the aftermath, as if everything happened too fast to even be described.
Stories told in song are so wonderful when done carefully and with the elegance that this song was. Others that come to mind are "If It Means a Lot to You" by A Day To Remember, or "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" by Gorillaz.
The 4 th verse is just so good about being after an outlaw & he was going to take him in alive or maybe dead & that it didn’t matter.
Now that’s badass !
I grew up listening to Marty Robbins, and this is just perfect, adequate in every way! I'm now going to beg for more Marty songs, or at the very least, Rock Island Line, because you don't have enough songs about trains. STOMP!!!
Got a point... maybe I could be a boat anchor one day
@@ericparrish1515 We must all dream...
from the seven seas to the wild west, holy big irons
Am I the only one who finds it hypnotic the way Andy stares down the barrel of the camera in these videos? It lends such an intimacy to his performance and I find it deeply moving.
Makes me thursty for some sunset sarsaparilla, would love to see you guys do "Jingle Jangle Jingle"
I need this on spotify rn
Licensing this song to Obsidian Entertainment was the smartest thing the Marty Robbins estate (or whoever owns the copyright) ever did.
Absolutely gorgeous! You boys can do no wrong. I would like to once again humbly suggest Star of the County Down for a dose of studio magic. Cheers, lads!
Truly, one of the greatest old west songs of all time, these guys did it justice.
Texas Red wasn't ready for the boys to drop this banger!! Amazing work guys
Delighted you are having a go at this! Marty Robbins is not appreciated contemporarily as he should be imo. Would you fancy having a go at 'Rawhide', full pelt?
I went back to an old New Vegas save just last week.
"Do you need a count?"
"Nah sir!"
(bang)
... ... ...
"Well... that ain't good"
Donuts fuckem...not me
I understood that reference
Let me tell you buddy. There's a faster gun. Coming over yonder. When tomorrow comes.
i want a dnd campaign written and played by these guys based on their songs/covers
I would love to see an expansion into many more of the Marty robbins songs, beautiful music gentleman!
Right?? I would love to hear them cover El Paso or Doggone Cowboy
ElPaso!
Absolutely beautiful! Easily the best version I’ve heard next to the original.
Have you guys considered releasing an album with all of your covers? I’d love to be able to stream your renditions of Byker Hill, El Fusilado, etc
The harmonies of your voices work perfectly for this song.
I went searching for a Big Iron Cover, and the first thing I saw was this. I have always enjoyed the Longest John's music, and to look for a Big Iron Cover and find a recently added cover by the Longest Johns was amazing. The stars have aligned for me.
This is an *amazing* cover of the song. The Courier would be proud.
We really need an album with all the one off songs you guys do for the channel. These have been some of my favorite pieces by you guys and it annoys me so much that it's not on spotify
One and nineteen more!
I remember hearing this TLJ rendition sung on a super late-night stream where Andy was just sitting around with a Banjo, sung some stuff like Hills of Mexico. Lovely to see it come to an official release. The preservation and retelling of these stories and songs will always be cheered on!
I to watched this stream, Andy absolutely slew this solo. I suggested he learnt El Paso at the time. I think the story telling of Marty Robins and TLJ arrangements and harmonics are a match made in heaven.
Of to see them in March as a birthday pressie from my awesome wife....or is that adequate wife?
GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD ❤
The pouts?
Patrolling your Channel makes almost you wish to listen to your songs non-stop!
Thanks you so much!
I grew up and served in Arizona...thanks for giving this a broader reach.
Cringe
The harmony is phenomenal.
Great, not heard one of Marty Robbins' Gunfigher Ballards in eons - one of Dad's favs with Johnny Cssh - a definite blast from past !😊
Is this why big iron memes have been showing up in my recommended feed again?
Such beautiful descending harmony lines at the end of the verses... 😍
Adequate job everyone! Can't wait for the new album
The last song I expected you guys to cover. Well done, I love it.
Holy moly that's AMAZING guys!! I cannot wait for this to get on Spotify. This may very well be the BEST version of this song!!!
holy shit, holy shit, this is fucking fantastic
The swiftness of that ranger is indeed still talked about today
Ever since I heard Andy do this song during his solo COVID stream I knew the whole group could do it justice. I have to say, this is even better than I imagined. Thank you for this great Marty Robbins cover!
best version.
This is me when I have a big iron on my hip (a big iron on my hip)
Only you could get away with that much ass draggin.
I may or may not have listened to this about 10 times over the last 2 days, its been great.
Speak softly and carry a Big Iron
Honestly, I'm not sure I liked the banjo that much before listening to you guys. Nice cover!
You clearly have never listened to some of the greatest banjo players in the world.
Whoopdedoo 😂
One of my all time favorite songs! sung by one of my favorite group great job!!!!
This song strongly affirmatives the value of 'Quick Draw'
You boys did a great job with this song.
Wow guys, bringing back memories of the first time I heard this as a kid. Going grocery shopping with my dad early Saturday mornings. He used to play this whole album, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. Would love to hear you guys cover more of Marty's songs.
You take a sip from your trusty Vault 11 canteen
Rip paul. This is where the real game begins.
...but the truth is, kid, the game was rigged from the start.
@thorvaldrvargeblod4603 so, rigs are way more funner. We pass mucho blind spots
Who's Paul?
An awesome crossover! Never thought I'd see the day
Wow guys, this is a wonderful cover. Thank you.
First we had Marty Robbins cheerful tone like the event of texas red is still fresh on everyone's mind, then we had Johnny Cash's dark tone almost like one of the eye witnesses is telling the story to his grand-kids and now Longest Johns cover is like the town telling the story to new comers years later.
Love your guy's work on this song!
The timing between the releases lines up near perfectly for this interpretation, too.
Considering the banjo, it's probably more like what the song sounds like by the time the story makes it back East to Virginia
I've been listening to the original for a while now while playing Titanfall 2, this kind of music is the secret soundtrack for that game
This just made me get tickets for their show in Belfast!!
This brings back memories
An absolutely amazing version of one of my favorite songs!!! This is why you guys are my favorite artists!!!!!
No one tells stories quite like a folk band. And no one plays folk quite like Longest Johns.
THE COVER I NEEDED
damn timezones. i had to watch this in class.
anyway i didnt expect ANYTHING in this video, so good job guys ily all
this is like my second watch and oh my god wtf they peaked. what the actual
Fantastic rendition! Found out about your music during the shanty revival a few years back and been listening ever since. Love ya'll's work.
Perfect as usual. Love it and so excited for the new album
This is genuinely an incredible and iconic cover that almost rivals the original
Love the claw hammer banjo... such an underrated style of music🪕
All 4 versions of Big Iron all hit so good. Each is different but amazing
An awesome rendition, please do more Marty Robbins!
I remember hearing this on stream and thinking "Im not a fan of how it sounds here". But I enjoyed this one, this one is quite adequate. Not sure if it was the sound quality of the stream, the fact that there wasnt all three of you there, or what it was, but this is a grand improvement.
i'm calling this the Campfire Mix
Holy shit when I saw this in my recommended I lost it! One of my fav songs of all time covered by another of my fav bands lets go!
It's a great tune
A cross between a shanty and an old country murder ballad
My late Mum loved Marty Robbins singing this :) love your version :)
Ok that was the best cover of this song... and i mean THE best...