Friday, November 12, 2010
Road Song: Pancho and Lefty
Two versions of this classic Townes Van Zandt song:
Emmylou Harris, 1977.
For the next one, you'll have to turn the sound down (compared to the first one).
Merle Haggard / Willie Nelson, 1983
Livin' on the road my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
Your breath's 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 boys
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
And nobody heard his dyin' words
Ah, but that's the way it goes.
(Lyrics from Emmylou Harris, 1977, as heard by myself.)
Originally recorded on the "Tucson to Tucumcari" road-song 90 minute tape back in the 1980's.
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4 comments:
Wonderful song! It has always been one of my favorites; and I never had heard Emmylou's version. Thanks....
Hard to know which version is best, but you can see which one I put first! :)
It was not until I clicked play that I realized I knew all the words. And reading Tucson to Tucamcari got Commander Cody playing in my head as well
Dan, I'm not familiar with the Commander Cody song you might be thinking of (and sorry for taking so long to reply).
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