Born in Glendale, Arizona, Robbins taught himself guitar while serving in the United States Navy during World War II, and subsequently drew fame performing in clubs in and around his hometown. In 1956, he released his first No. 1 country song, "Singing the Blues" and one year later, released two more No. 1 hits, "A White Sport Coat" and "The Story of My Life". In 1959, Robbins released his signature song, "El Paso", for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. Later releases that drew critical acclaim include "Don't Worry", "Big Iron" and "Honkytonk Man", the last for which the 1982 Clint Eastwood film is named, and in which Robbins made his final appearance before death.
Over the course of his career, Robbins recorded more than 500 songs and 60 albums, and won two Grammy Awards, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was named the 1960s Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music. Robbins was a commercial success in both the country and pop genres, and his songs were covered by many other famous artists, including Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead and Elvis Presley. His music continues to have an influence in pop culture today, having recently appeared in several contemporary pop culture features, including the video game Fallout: New Vegas, and the series finale of AMC's Breaking Bad.
Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. His mother was mostly of Paiute Indian heritage. Robbins grew up in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of 10 children; however, his hard drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle, who was a local medicine man. At 17, Robbins left his troubled home to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.
Robbins' discography consists of 52 studio albums, 13 compilation albums, and 100 singles. In his career, Robbins charted 17 Number One singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, as well as 82 Top 40 singles.
Robbins' highest charting album is 1959's Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. It charted to #6 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's first single, "El Paso", became a hit on both the country and pop charts, charting to Number One on the Hot Country Songs as well as the Billboard Hot 100. While that would be his only pop Number One, in 1957, "A White Sport Coat" charted to #2, and in 1961, "Don't Worry" charted to #3.
His final Top 10 single was "Honkytonk Man" from the 1982 eponymous film in which Robbins had a role. He died shortly before its release. Since his death, four posthumous studio albums have been released, but they made no impact on the charts.
Robbins married Marizona "Mari" Baldwin on September 27, 1948. They had two children, Ronny and Janet, and were married 34 years until his death.
Ain
Marty Robbins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To show the folks a brand new way of life
But all you've shown the folks around here is trouble
And you've only added misery to their strife
Your concern is not to help the people
And I'll say again, though it's been often said
Your concern is just to bring discomfort, my friend
And your policy is just a little red
(ain't he right)
It matters not to you how people suffer
And should they, you'd consider that a gain
You bring a lot of trouble to the town and then you leave
That's part of your Communistic game
I detect a little Communisim
I can see it in the things ya do
Communisim, socialism call it what you like
There's very little difference in the two
Now, ain't I right (ain't he right)
(ain't he right)
Your followers sometimes have been a bearded, hatless bunch
There's even been a minister or two
A priest, a nun, a rabbi and an educated man
Have listened and been taken in by you
Aw, the country's full of two-faced politicians
Who encourage you with words that go like this
Burn your draft card if you like, it's good to disagree
That's a get acquainted Communistic kiss
Now, ain't I right (ain't he right)
(ain't he right)
One politician said it would be nice to send some blood
And help the enemy in Vietnam
That's what he says, here's what I say
Let's just keep the blood
Instead let's send that politician man
Let's rid the country of the politicians,
Who call us tramps, that march out in our streets
Protesting those who want to fight for freedom, my friend
This kind of leader makes our country weak
Now, ain't I right (ain't he right)
(ain't he right)
Let's look and find the strong and able leaders
It's time we found just how our neighbours stand
If we're to win this war with Communism
Let's fight it here as well as Vietman
Let's rise as one and meet our obligations
So Communistic boots will never trod
Across the fields of freedom that were given to us
With the blessing of our great almighty God
Across the fields of freedom that were given to us
With the blessing of our great almighty God
In "Ain't I Right," Marty Robbins critiques the ideology and actions of a Communist. The singer, speaking to the Communist, accuses him of coming to a Southern town and spreading his Communist beliefs instead of helping the people as he claimed he would. The singer believes that this Communist's only goal is to bring discomfort to others and that he cares nothing for the people he claims to be helping. The singer accuses the Communist of wanting people to suffer so he can gain something from their pain. The singer points out that the Communist has caused trouble in many towns and only leaves after causing chaos. The singer then accuses the Communist of being a follower of Communism and that the only difference between Communism and socialism is the way they are spelled. Furthermore, the singer accuses the followers of the Communist being uneducated and taking advantage of the "get acquainted Communistic kiss."
It is clear that Robbins believes Communism to be a danger to the country and that the Communist agenda is not in the best interest of the people. Robbins warns against politicians who encourage Communism and are two-faced. The singer says that these politicians encourage the Communist followers to burn their draft cards and protest instead of fighting for freedom. Robbins believes that the country needs strong and able leaders to fight Communism and that it is time to find out where our neighbors stand. He adds that if the country is to win the war against Communism, the fight must begin at home as well as in Vietnam. The singer argues that it is time to rise as one and meet our obligations so that we can keep our fields of freedom, which were given to us with the "blessing of our great almighty God."
Line by Line Meaning
You came down to this southern town last summer
You came to this town to introduce a new way of life
To show the folks a brand new way of life
You came down to show people something they've never seen before
But all you've shown the folks around here is trouble
Everything you've shown people in this town has caused chaos and problems
And you've only added misery to their strife
Your actions have only made things worse for people who were already struggling
Your concern is not to help the people
Helping people is not your priority
And I'll say again, though it's been often said
I'll repeat what others have already said
Your concern is just to bring discomfort, my friend
Your intention is to cause distress and unease
And your policy is just a little red
Your policy is markedly left-leaning
It matters not to you how people suffer
You don't care about the suffering of others
And should they, you'd consider that a gain
In fact, you view others' suffering as a potential gain
You bring a lot of trouble to the town and then you leave
You cause problems and then leave without fixing them
That's part of your Communistic game
It's all part of your communist strategy
I detect a little Communism
I see some communist ideology in your actions
I can see it in the things ya do
It's evident in the actions you take
There's very little difference in the two
Communism and socialism are almost the same thing
Your followers sometimes have been a bearded, hatless bunch
Your supporters often have an unconventional appearance
There's even been a minister or two
Even some religious leaders have been taken in by you
A priest, a nun, a rabbi and an educated man
People from various walks of life have been influenced by you
Aw, the country's full of two-faced politicians
Our country is full of politicians who speak out of both sides of their mouth
Who encourage you with words that go like this
They use words of encouragement to support you
Burn your draft card if you like, it's good to disagree
They tell people to burn their draft cards as a way to protest, although this is a Communist ideal
That's a get acquainted Communistic kiss
This type of behavior is a signature move of Communist ideology
One politician said it would be nice to send some blood
One politician suggested sending soldiers to Vietnam
And help the enemy in Vietnam
By doing so, we would be aiding the enemy in Vietnam
That's what he says, here's what I say
But I disagree with that suggestion
Let's just keep the blood
Instead, let's keep our troops here to protect our own country
Instead let's send that politician man
Instead of sending soldiers, let's send that politician to fight
Let's rid the country of the politicians,
Let's get rid of politicians who don't have our country's best interests at heart
Who call us tramps, that march out in our streets
Politicians who use derogatory language to refer to protesters
Protesting those who want to fight for freedom, my friend
Protesting people who want to protect our right to freedom
This kind of leader makes our country weak
Leaders like this weaken our country and put us in danger
Let's look and find the strong and able leaders
We need to find capable leaders to guide our country
It's time we found just how our neighbours stand
We need to know where our neighbors stand on important issues
If we're to win this war with Communism
If we want to defeat Communism
Let's fight it here as well as Vietman
We need to fight it both here and in Vietnam
Let's rise as one and meet our obligations
We need to unite and fulfill our responsibilities
So Communistic boots will never trod
So we can prevent communism from taking root in our country
Across the fields of freedom that were given to us
The freedoms we have were granted to us for a reason
With the blessing of our great almighty God
By the grace of God, we have our freedoms
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARTY ROBBINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pix Tron
It's weird that this is the only Marty Robbins song that isn't on Spotify
human being
politics get messy maybe they decide not to deal with that when they were putting them on
rocklar3
Pix Tron Also 'My Own Native Land'
Axel Milan
Or iTunes🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
molikeur
@Seraphim D in what delusion are u living in ?
I could see commies and socialists get butthurt and try to take down the song but saying commies are running spotify is something else it's a bold statement
Jamal Salads
I never thought a anti communist message could be such a banger.
Mistrui
when isnt a anti communist message such a banger? theres alot of them usually catchy too
Vertexed
@Mistrui as they should, communism on all levels including the very natural is an evil
Vertexed
Anarcho Communism when you go to Hell and meet Karl Marx, you can ask him
DavidWALLY18
Anarcho Communism killed 100 million+, therefore evil