Robbins, Marty - Tall Handsome Stranger Lyrics






A tall handsome stranger rode into town
With fire in his eyes burning red as sundown
His boots were all dusty, his coat open wide
Six ways of dying hung low on his side

He went in the town hall asking for me
They told him that I was still town deputy
I sent him to prison to pay for his crime
He killed a guard on the Sante Fe line

He spread word around town that my time had come
My notch was already carved on his gun
He's laughing and braggin and having his fun
It's all a show for he knows I won't run

That night in silence the town was asleep
I sat by my window and looked down the street
I wished in my heart that he would just ride away
I hated to face him next sunup that day

I met him at sunup, the crowd gathered round
Waitin and watching for one to go down
He grabbed for his six gun, tryin his best
He cursed as my bullet went deep in his chest

He stood there a moment and looked all around
Slowly and lifeless he fell to the ground
The stranger's my brother, born an outlaw
He must have forgotten I taught him to draw

The whole town was waiting and I was alone
The blood that I spilled was just like my own
When she hears this story, how Mother will cry
Brother 'gainst brother and one had to die

To die
To die





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Robbins, Marty Tall Handsome Stranger Comments
  1. R.... ....

    Big Iron part II, except that the stranger who rode into town looking to kill is the one who dies instead.

    R.... ....

    If you listen to the gunfighter ballad's the songs sometimes have a story between them

  2. K.... M....

    I had never heard this before. The world lost a great song writer and singer when Marty Robbins past away.

  3. B.... ....

    For y’all that don’t know this is the story that from the Arizona’s ranger point of view

  4. I.... J....

    Are we just gonna ignore this is produced by D. Devito?

    I.... J....

    Don DeVito, producer of Bob Dylan records also.

  5. A.... 1....

    2019,Im 19 years old,English is my second language and I just fell in love with this song!!!!!❤️

  6. L.... C....

    Marty should've written a novel. He was so good at painting a picture with words.

  7. J.... R....

    you can’t make up these stories he is truly an amazing story teller and singer

  8. U.... ....

    A tall handsome stranger rode into town
    With fire in his eyes burning red as sundown
    His boots were all dusty, his coat open wide
    Six ways of dying hung low on his side
    He went in the town hall asking for me
    They told him that I was still town deputy
    I sent him to prison to pay for his crime
    He killed a guard on the Sante Fe line
    He spread word around town that my time had come
    My notch was already carved on his gun
    He's laughing and braggin and having his fun
    It's all a show for he knows I won't run
    That night in silence the town was asleep
    I sat by my window and looked down the street
    I wished in my heart that he would just ride away
    I hated to face him next sunup that day
    I met him at sunup, the crowd gathered round
    Waitin and watching for one to go down
    He grabbed for his six gun, tryin his best
    He cursed as my bullet went deep in his chest
    He stood there a moment and looked all around
    Slowly and lifeless he fell to the ground
    The stranger's my brother, born an outlaw
    He must have forgotton I taught him to draw
    The whole town was waiting and I was alone
    The blood that I spilled was just like my own
    When she hears this story, how Mother will cry
    Brother 'gainst brother and one had to die
    To die
    To die

    U.... ....

    Im a vocalist, how you typed this is just all run on, however its still a good song xD

  9. D.... H....

    One of my favorite lines from any Marty Robbins song, "He must have forgotten I taught him to draw."

    D.... H....

    It's so powerful even though it's so short

  10. C.... L....

    The instrumental work on this song, well, let's just say it's as good as the singing!

  11. s.... w....

    Who disliked

    s.... w....

    sick watermelon a tall handsome stranger disliked.

  12. T.... S....

    Always that twist ending in Marty's ballads.

    T.... S....

    requiems a requiem is a song of the dead
    Ballad is just how animals died

  13. F.... 9....

    The one person to dislike this is the brother.

    F.... 9....

    Fishbait 98 ikr

  14. F.... 9....

    I love how his music is a literal story. Paints a vivid picture in my mind. Like when he said 6 ways to die hung low at his side makes me smile.

    F.... 9....

    Fishbait 98 what does he mean by that?

    F.... 9....

    @Nick Goar he means that he has six bullets in the chamber of his gun, so 6 different ways to die.

    F.... 9....

    @Republican Pole Not to be that guy, but *cylinder.*

  15. j.... s....

    would love to have a copy if anyone can do that. reminds me in a way of my fav western book that o cant find a copy any where: called Twin Guns

    j.... s....

    A cassette copy, cd, other

  16. 4.... ....

    Six ways of dying hung low on his side

  17. j.... s....

    never heared this tell last year, one of my favs.

  18. s.... ....

    I love robbins, always about something that seems to just reach into you as a person.

  19. M.... R....

    I think when he calls him a stranger he's speaking for the towns people

    M.... R....

    Yep, to the townspeople he's a stranger, but the narrator knows who he is the entire time.

    M.... R....

    Matthew Ryan I think he means it figuratively.

    M.... R....

    That’s Why it’s so painful for us. We know the narrator has to kill his brother. He knows he’ll win and he feels the guilt

    M.... R....

    Marty Robbins Tall Handsome Stranger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljYmYVENJek

    M.... R....

    Matthew Ryan I think it might have been metaphorical, when he calls his brother a stranger that is probably referring to how much his brother has changed and how distant they have become.

  20. y.... d....

    brilliant song!