Pancho and Lefty
Emmylou Harris
Version
published by
thisworldfor
[Intro]C[Verse]C GLiving on the road my friend, is gonna keep you free and cleanFNow you wear your skin like iron,C GYour breath as hard as keroseneF C FYou weren't your mama's only boy, but her favorite one it seemsAm F C GShe began to cry when you said goodbye,F Am Am GAnd sank into your dreams[Verse]C GPancho was a bandit boy, his horse was fast as polished steelFHe wore his gun outside his pantsC GFor all the honest world to feelF C FPancho met his match you know on the deserts down in MexicoAm F C G F Am Am GAnd nobody heard his dying words, ah but that's the way it goes[Chorus]F C FAll the Federales say they could have had him any dayAm F C G F Am Am GThey only let him slip away out of kindness, I suppose[Verse]C GLefty, he can't sing the blues all night long like he used to.F C GThe dust that Pancho bit down south ended up in Lefty's mouthF C FThe day they laid poor Pancho low, Lefty split for OhioAm F C G F Am Am GWhere he got the bread to go, there ain't nobody knows[Chorus]F C FAll the Federales say could have had him any dayAm F C G F Am Am F C CWe only let him slip away out of kindness, I suppose[Solo]| F | F | C | F || Am | F C | G | G | F |
| Am | Am G |
[Verse]C GThe poets tell how Pancho fell, and Lefty's living in a cheap hotelFThe desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold,C GAnd so the story ends we're toldF C FPancho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty tooAm F C G F Am Am GHe only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old[Chorus]F C FAll the Federales say could have had him any dayAm F C G F Am Am GWe only let him slip away out of kindness, I supposeF C FA few gray Federales say could have had him any dayAm F C G F Am Am F CWe only let him go so long, out of of kindness, I suppose