Pancho and Lefty
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| "Pancho and Lefty" | |
| Written by | Townes Van Zandt |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Original artist | Townes Van Zandt |
| Recorded by | Townes Van Zandt Emmylou Harris Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard (See list below) |
"Pancho and Lefty" is a folk song written by Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt first recorded it for his 1972 album, The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. Emmylou Harris then covered the song for her 1977 album, Luxury Liner and the song became a number one country hit in 1983 when Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson adopted it as the title track of their duet album Pancho & Lefty.
The song tells the story of a Mexican bandit named Pancho and a more enigmatic character, Lefty. The song tells of Pancho's death and implies that he was betrayed by his associate Lefty who was paid off by the Mexican federales.
Although many people initially assume that the song is about the famous Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, Van Zandt has denied this, and the lyrics are not easily reconciled with the historic details of Villa's life and death.
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[edit] Song structure
Acoustic Guitar has done an analysis to demonstrate how the song's IV-I chord progression enhances the song's lyrics. The harmonic structure helps to convey the feelings of the song's characters. [1] The song makes use of four chords. The I-IV-V-vi.
[edit] Selected discography
Lesser-known covers of "Pancho and Lefty" have been released by the following artists:
- Emmylou Harris, on her album Luxury Liner (1977)
- Hoyt Axton on Snowblind Friend (1977)
- Bob Dylan in various live performances and rare recordings, as early as 1989.[2]
- Storyhill (a.k.a. Chris & Johnny), on their album Different Waters (1992)
- Dick Gaughan, on his album Redwood Cathedral (1998)
- Delbert McClinton, on the album Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt (2001)
- Old and in the Way, on their album Old & In the Gray (2002)
- Todd Menton, on his album Punts (2002)
- Richard Dobson, on his album Amigos: Richard Dobson Sings Townes Van Zandt (2003)
- Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, on the album Live and Obscure (2000)
- The song also receives a prominent mention in Brad Paisley's "Better Than This" from 5th Gear.
[edit] Succession
| Preceded by "The Closer You Get" by Alabama |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number one single July 23, 1983 by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard |
Succeeded by "I Always Get Lucky With You" by George Jones |
[edit] External links
- Chords and lyrics from the Townes Van Zandt Blue Sky Homepage
- Song review at the All Music Guide
- Townes Van Zandt explains "Pancho and Lefty" (MPEG video) from Townes Van Zandt Central
[edit] Notes and sources
- ^ Dick Stephen, "Song Craft: Inside a Classic Song--How Harmony Builds Mood and Meaning in Townes Van Zandt's 'Pancho and Lefty'", Acoustic Guitar, 8:1:55, July 1997, p. 39-41
- ^ e.g. see "Performances & Rare Recordings" from bobdylan.com for an example from the 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival, or search the web for a recent duet with Willie Nelson. Bobdylanroots.com indicates that he began covering the song as early as 1989 on the "Never Ending Tour." Various bootleg recordings exist.
