Song written by Townes Van Zandt
sung by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
[Verse 1]
D
Livin' on the road, my friend
A
Was gonna keep us 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
[Verse 2]
D
Pancho was a bandit, boys
A
Rode a horse fast as polished steel
G
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
No one heard his dyin' words
G Bm
But that's the way it goes
[Chorus]
G
And all the federales say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm G A
They only let him slip away
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
[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
Well there ain't nobody 'knows
[Chorus]
G
And all the federales say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm G A
They only let him slip away
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
[Verse 4]
D
Now poets sing how Pancho fell
A
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
And now he's growin' old
[Chorus]
(Final Chorus)
D
Yes a few old gray federales still say
D G
They could have had him any day
Bm G A
They only let him go so wrong
G Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose
