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let us discuss poncho and lefty
Posted on 1/28/13 at 9:14 am
Posted on 1/28/13 at 9:14 am
poncho:
- bandit boy
- fast horse
- had a CCP
- evaded the law dogs
- died in old mexico
lefty:
- singer/songwriter
- worn out by either age or the life he was living
- left for cleveland the day of poncho's funeral, although he was relatively poor
- now resides in cheap hotels
- did what he had to do
do you think what lefty had to do was shoot down pancho in cold blood to collect the reward money?
GO!!!
- bandit boy
- fast horse
- had a CCP
- evaded the law dogs
- died in old mexico
lefty:
- singer/songwriter
- worn out by either age or the life he was living
- left for cleveland the day of poncho's funeral, although he was relatively poor
- now resides in cheap hotels
- did what he had to do
do you think what lefty had to do was shoot down pancho in cold blood to collect the reward money?
GO!!!
Posted on 1/28/13 at 9:33 am to Flair Chops
Were they brothers? Pancho being the favorite? I don't think Lefty killed him, but maybe sold him out.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 9:38 am to Flair Chops
Always thought it was pretty obvious that Lefty turned him in to the Federalies (sp?). He didn't shoot Pancho just gave up his whereabouts so the Law shot him down. Collected the ransom and moved do Cleveland where he drank himself to death out of guilt. Always been the way I took it but I could be wrong, I guess.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 9:52 am to LucasP
i've never seen them as brothers, more like acquaintances. mutual respect and stuff.
i always assumed lefty killed him, collected the money and went on to cleveland.
aside: i have a chocolate lab named poncho & a black lab named lefty, fwiw. :csb:
i always assumed lefty killed him, collected the money and went on to cleveland.
aside: i have a chocolate lab named poncho & a black lab named lefty, fwiw. :csb:
Posted on 1/28/13 at 10:04 am to Flair Chops
quote:
Although the lyrics are not exactly reconcilable with the historic details of the life and death of the famous Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, Van Zandt does not rule out the idea. In an interview, he recalled, "I realize that I wrote it, but it's hard to take credit for the writing, because it came from out of the blue. It came through me and it's a real nice song, and I think, uh, I've finally found out what it's about. I've always wondered what it's about. I kinda always knew it wasn't about Pancho Villa, and then somebody told me that Pancho Villa had a buddy whose name in Spanish meant 'Lefty.' But in the song, my song, Pancho gets hung. 'They only let him hang around out of kindness I suppose' and the real Pancho Villa was, uh, assassinated."
In the same interview, recalling an altercation with law enforcement, Van Zandt recalled, "We got stopped by these two policeman and...they said 'What do you do for a living?', and I said, 'Well, I'm a songwriter', and they both kind of looked around like 'pitiful, pitiful', and so on to that I added, 'I wrote that song Pancho and Lefty. You ever heard that song Pancho and Lefty? I wrote that', and they looked back around and they looked at each other and started grinning, and it turns out that their squad car, you know their partnership, it was two guys, it was an Anglo and a Hispanic, and it turns out, they're called Pancho and Lefty..so I think maybe that's what it's about, those two guys... I hope I never see them again"
Posted on 1/28/13 at 10:30 am to TFTC
have you heard the story about him writing it in a hotel room in dallas?
i have it on mp3 somewhere, but i can't find it on youtube.
i have it on mp3 somewhere, but i can't find it on youtube.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 10:37 am to Flair Chops
quote:
do you think what lefty had to do was shoot down pancho in cold blood to collect the reward money?
Lefty was a snitch.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 10:52 am to Jim Rockford
i like thinking he was a stone cold killer instead.
'the dust that pancho bit down south ended up in lefty's mouth'
i know that's metaphorical, but it could also be literal.
lefty pulled the trigger.
'the dust that pancho bit down south ended up in lefty's mouth'
i know that's metaphorical, but it could also be literal.
lefty pulled the trigger.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 1:03 pm to Flair Chops
quote:
lefty pulled the trigger.
From the song:
quote:
They only let him hang around
You have to pay attention to every word in a Townes van Zandt song and expect that there might be a double, contradictory, meaning.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 1:08 pm to Flair Chops
quote:
lefty pulled the trigger.
In the above quote from TVZ, he says he was hung...
Posted on 1/28/13 at 1:26 pm to TFTC
i read that quote 10 times and i'm just now seeing it. frick, i've been living a lie for 28 years
Posted on 1/28/13 at 2:33 pm to Flair Chops
I always like the very beginning of this song too. Pretty much autobiographical for Townes. And the whole irony of going on the road to clean up and ending up with breath that smells like kerosene is the kind of curve ball that makes his lyrics so great. Another thing about this song is everyone thinks it's about Pancho when really is about Lefty and his decision.
quote:
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.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 3:12 pm to Flair Chops
Lefty turned him in for the bounty. Lefty didn't have the balls to kill anyone.
This post was edited on 1/28/13 at 3:13 pm
Posted on 1/28/13 at 3:16 pm to Womski
Just want to add I love EmmyLou Harris' version of this.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 6:16 pm to FightinTigersDammit
I've always viewed Lucero's Hey Darlin, do you gamble as a sequel to Pancho and Lefty.
Obviously Ben drew inspiration from Townes with the lyric "if I shed this skin of iron and this breath of kerosene" but who knows if a sequel was his intention.
I like the though of it at least.
Obviously Ben drew inspiration from Townes with the lyric "if I shed this skin of iron and this breath of kerosene" but who knows if a sequel was his intention.
I like the though of it at least.
Posted on 1/28/13 at 7:36 pm to CottonWasKing
Ben told me that hey darlin is really a homage to Townes. He's a big Townes fan. He even covers Colorado girl live
Posted on 1/28/13 at 7:42 pm to TheDoc
Good enough for me to continue believing its a sequel
Posted on 1/28/13 at 7:42 pm to TheDoc
Good enough for me to continue believing its a sequel
Posted on 1/29/13 at 9:21 am to CottonWasKing
gaslight's wherefore art thou, elvis? references p&l as well. gaslight references a bunch of artists and songs, so it's not surprising, i guess
...And in the breath from my chest I was blowing kerosene...
you could maybe make a case for this one as well from the same song
I got the dust of the desert in my bones, coming through the amplifiers
and this one
I wash my hands like the man with the blood on his teeth Over and over without relief
...And in the breath from my chest I was blowing kerosene...
you could maybe make a case for this one as well from the same song
I got the dust of the desert in my bones, coming through the amplifiers
and this one
I wash my hands like the man with the blood on his teeth Over and over without relief
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