Pancho and Lefty as performed by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAL5etIiWEw
[Intro]
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x2
[Verse 1]
D
Livin' on the road, my friend
A
Was gonna keep you free and clean
G
But now you wear your skin like iron
D A
And your breath's as hard as kerosene
G
You weren't your mama's only boy
D G
But her favorite one, it seems
Bm G A
She began to cry When you said good bye
G Bm
And sank into your dreams
[Climb]
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[Verse 2]
D
Pancho was a bandit, boys
A
His horse was fast as polished steel
G
He Wore his guns outside his pants
D A
For all the honest world to feel
G
Pancho met his match, you know
D G
On the deserts down in Mexico
Bm G A
Nobody heard his dyin' words
G Bm
Aw, but that's the way it goes
Bm A
[Chorus]
G
And all the federales say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm G A
They only let him slip a-way
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
Bm A
[Verse 3]
D
Now Lefty he can't sing the blues
A
All night long like he used to
G
The dust that Pancho bit down South
D A
It ended up in Lefty's mouth
G
The day they laid old Pancho low
D G
Lefty split for Ohio
Bm G A
Where he got the bread to go
G Bm
There ain't nobody knows
Bm A
[Chorus]
G
All the federales say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm G A
We only let him slip a-way
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
Bm A
[Instrumental]
G D D G G D G Bm A A G Bm
Each of these represent about 1 measure, see the video at 2:48
Bm C#m
[Verse 4]
D
Poets sing how Pancho fell
A
An' Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
G
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
D A
And so the story ends, we're told
G
Pancho needs your prayers, it's true
D G
But save a few for Lefty, too
Bm G A
He only did what he had to do
G Bm A
And now he's growin' old
[Chorus]
G
All the federales say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm G A
They only let him go so long
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
G
A few gray federales say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm A
They only let go so long
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
[Outro]
Bm G D
