In "Desperado" they mix the reference of the outlaw with the musicians being the modern day outlaws.

This song is about how the "guy" became an outlaw (or how he became a guitar player). Written by Meisner. The interpretation was mentioned by Glenn Frey during the BBC 73 concert.

This song is about a guitar, the kid saw it and wanted it, its about how he worked his way up to be so good that everyone wanted to be like him, so he had to run from the fans, at first he liked it, but in the end he couldnt get out of it

i think this is about discovering the difference between popularity and respect.

Are you sure it's a guitar? I can understand with all the dance and sing stuff but the album is about outlaws...
"And then one day he felt if,
He knew he could stand with the best"
He knows he is a good enough shooter to join a gang

"They got respect, oh yeah,
He wants the same, oh yeah,
And it's a certain kind of fool who
Like to hear the sound of his own name"
These guitar criminals got respect and that is all he wanted. He wants people to whisper about him.

"A poster on a storefront, the picture of a wanted man
He had a reputation spreading like fire throughout the land
It wasn't for the money, at least it didn't star t that way
It wasn't for the runnin' , but now he's runnin' everyday"
Now this is where I KNOW he is a criminal...

The Daltons (the base for the entire Desperado album) were a criminal gang made up of the Dalton brothers. Emmett Dalton was the youngest and I think a lot of the songs on Desperado are about him; I think he IS 'Desperado' and I think this song is about how he looks up to his brothers and wants the respect they got. He joined his brothers for the respect and the excitement (It wasn't for the money) but he started to like the money (at least it didn't start that way), things changed and he realised he is in deep sh*t (it wasn't for the runnin', but now he's runnin' every day).

The way I see it, the story of the kid getting a gun, learning to use it and then ending up on the run can be interpreted as an analogy for a person who wants to learn the guitar and make it big in a band and then finds out that it's not the extravagant 24-hour party lifestyle that he expected, and ends up running from the all the attention. And that, for me, is what's really clever about this song.

Actually, reading the lyrics again, it could be an analogy for for anyone who wants to be famous and recognized for whatever reason, but then gets there and realizes it's not everything they thought it was going to be.