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Pancho And Lefty
Living on the road my friend Source: Musixmatch
was gonna keep you free and clean Songwriters: Townes Van Zandt
Now you wear your skin like iron Pancho And Lefty lyrics © Katie Belle Music, Will
and your breath’s as hard as kerosene Van Zandt Publishing, Jtvz Music, Katie Bell Music,
You weren’t your mama’s only boy Bug Music O/b/o Katie Belle Music, Wixen Music
but her favorite one it seems Publishing Obo Will Van Zandt Publishing, Wixen
She began to cry when you said goodbye Music Publishing Obo Jtvz Music, Bug Music O/b/o
and sank into your dreams Will Van Zandt Publishing
Poncho was a bandit boy, To listen follow this link....
his horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants ohn Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January
for all the honest world to feel J1, 1997), better known as Townes Van Zandt, was
Poncho met his match you know an American singer-songwriter. He wrote numerous
on the deserts down in Mexico songs, such as “Pancho and Lefty”, “For the Sake of
Nobody heard his dyin’ words the Song”, “Tecumseh Valley”, “Rex’s Blues”, and “To
ah but that’s the way it goes Live Is to Fly”, that are widely considered
masterpieces of American folk music. His musical
All the Federales say they could’ve had him any day style has often been described as melancholy and
They only let him slip away out of kindness I suppose features rich, poetic lyrics. During his early years,
Van Zandt was respected for his guitar playing and
Lefty he can’t sing the blues fingerpicking ability.
all night long the way he used to
The dust that Poncho bit down south In 1983, six years after Emmylou Harris had first
ended up in Lefty’s mouth popularized it, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Day they laid poor Poncho low covered his song “Pancho and Lefty”, reaching num-
Lefty split for Ohio ber one on the Billboard country music chart. Much
Where he got the bread to go there of Van Zandt’s life was spent touring various dive
ain’t nobody knows bars, often living in cheap motel rooms and
backwood cabins. For much of the 1970s, he lived in
All the Federales say they could’ve had him any day a simple shack without electricity or a telephone.
They only let him slip away out of kindness I suppose
His influence has been cited by countless artists
The poets tell how Poncho fell across multiple genres, and his music has been re-
and Lefty’s living in a cheap hotel corded or performed by Bob Dylan, Willie
The desert’s quiet and Cleveland’s cold Nelson, Merle Haggard, Norah Jones, Emmylou
and so the story ends we’re told Harris, Counting Crows, Steve Earle, Robert Earl
Poncho needs your prayers it’s true Keen Jr., Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Wade Bowen,
but save a few for Lefty too Gillian Welch, Pat Green, Colter Wall, Jason Isbell,
He only did what he had to do Calvin Russell, Natalie Maines, and Frank Turner.
and now he’s growing old
Van Zandt died on New Years Day 1997 from
They only let him go so long cardiac arrythmia caused by health problems
out of kindness I suppose stemming from years of substance abuse. A revival of
A few great Federales say could’ve interest in Van Zandt occurred in the 2000s. During
had him any day the decade, two books, a documentary film (Be Here
They only let him go so long to Love Me), and numerous magazine articles about
out of kindness I suppose the singer were written. (Source Wikipedia)
20 www.writeawaymagazine.co.uk
