Living on the road my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
And now you wear your skin like iron
And your breath as hard as kerosene

Weren't your mama's only boy
But her favorite one it seems
She began to cry when you said goodbye
And sank into your dreams

Pancho was a bandit boy
His horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel

Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dying words
Ah but that's the way it goes

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose

Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth

The day they laid poor Pancho low
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go
There ain't nobody knows

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
We only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose

The poets tell how Pancho fell
And Lefty's living in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold
And so the story ends we're told

Pancho needs your prayers it's true
But save a few for Lefty too
He only did what he had to do
And now he's growing old

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose

A few gray Federales say
We could have had him any day
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose


Lyrics submitted by fallacies, edited by Gizmopolis

Pancho and Lefty Lyrics as written by Townes Van Zandt

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

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Pancho And Lefty song meanings
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  • +2
    General Comment

    The meaning of this song has always haunted me, so one day I spent a few hours on the internet trying to hunt dow the meaning. Here's what I found. The song was written by the legendary Townes Van Zandt, who went to his grave without ever revealing anything about the song. Wow.

    IJBandon February 20, 2006   Link

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