Townes Van Zandt(1944-1997) was a singer-songwriter, born in Texasto a life on the road. Van Zandt was master of the small, intimate folkperformance, such as the July 1973 show that became Live At The Old Quarter Houston, Texas, the double album on Tomato Records. As the Austin Chroniclewrites of the re-released CD, "Alone with a guitar, he hushes the crowd with his visionary tunes that are by turns haunting and eccentric, yet filled with beauty and dark shadows." Despite chronic battles with alcoholism and depression, his songwriting displayed a sense of humour and introspection, truth and beauty. Many artists cite Townes' influence on their music, with covers of his songs recorded by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Jeffrey Foucault, Cowboy Junkies, The Be Good Tanyasand others. His son John T.
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Pancho & Lefty Lyrics
Townes Van Zandt
By townes van zandt
Living on the road my friend,
Is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You werent your mamas 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 boy,
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
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but thats the way it goes.
All the federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.
Lefty, he cant sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that pancho bit down south
Ended up in leftys mouth
The day they laid poor pancho low,
Lefty split for ohio
Where he got the bread to go,
There aint nobody knows
The poets tell how pancho fell,
And leftys living in cheap hotels
The deserts quiet, clevelands cold,
And so the story ends were told
Pancho needs your prayers its true,
But save a few for lefty too
He only did what he had to do,
And now hes growing old