Poncho & Lefty — Townes Van Zandt
Chords and lyrics for Poncho & Lefty by Townes Van Zandt (key of D).
Verse 1
The original from The Best of Townes Van Zandt is tuned down a half-step!
Intro
Fingerpick A to Bm
(Travis style pattern works well and can be continued throughout the song.)
Verse 1
[D]Living on the road my friend
[A]Was gonna keep you free and clean
[G]Now you wear your skin like iron
Your [D]breath's as hard as [A]kerosene
[G]You weren't your mama's only boy
But her [D]favorite one it [G]seems
[Bm]She began to cry when you [G]said [D][A]goodbye
And [G]sank into your [Bm]dreams
Verse 2
[D]Pancho was a bandit boys
[A]His horse was fast as polished steel
[G]Wore his gun outside his pants
For [D]all the honest [A]world to feel
[G]Pancho met his match you know
On the [D]deserts down in [G]Mexico
[Bm]Nobody heard his [G][D]dying [A]words
[G]That's the way it [Bm]goes
Chorus
[G]All the federales say
[D]They could have had him [G]any day
[Bm]They only let him [G]hang [D][A]a-round
Out of [G]kindness I [Bm]suppose
Verse 3
[D]Lefty he can't sing the blues
[A]All night long like he used to
[G]The dust that Pancho bit down south
[D]Ended up in [A]Lefty's mouth
[G]The day they laid poor Pancho low
[D]Lefty split for [G]Ohio
[Bm]Where he got the [G]bread [D]to [A]go
There [G]ain't nobody [Bm]knows
Chorus
[G]All the federales say
[D]They could have had him [G]any day
[Bm]They only let him [G]slip [D][A]a-way
Out of [G]kindness I [Bm]suppose
Verse 4
[D]The poets tell how Pancho fell
[A]Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
[G]The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
[D]So the story [A]ends we're told
[G]Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But [D]save a few for [G]Lefty too
[Bm]He just did what he [G]had [D]to [A]do
[G]Now he's growing [Bm]old
Chorus
[G]All the federales say
[D]They could have had him [G]any day
[Bm]They only let him [G]go [D]so [A]wrong
Out of [G]kindness I [Bm]suppose
[G]And a few gray federales say
[D]They could have had him [G]any day
[Bm]They only let him [G]go [D]so [A]long
Out of [G]kindness I [Bm]suppose
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