The dust that Pancho bit down south
All the federales say
There ain't nobody knows
And your breath as hard as kerosene
"They could have had him any day"
Where he got the bread to go
Pancho met his match, you know
Lefty split for Ohio
Lefty he can't sing the blues
"We could have had him any day"
Out of kindness, I suppose
Sank into your dreams
All the federales say
His horse was fast as polished steel
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
Out of kindness, I suppose
He only did what he had to do
"Could have had him any day"
They only let him go so long
And so the story ends, we're told
Weren't you mama's only boy
On the deserts down in Mexico
Pancho was a bandit, boy
For all the honest world to feel
But her favorite one, it seems
But save a few for lefty, too
All night long like he used to
All the federales say
We only let him slip away
They only let him slip away
He wore his gun outside his pants
Out of kindness, I suppose
Nobody heard his dyin' words
And now he's growin' old
But that's the way it goes
A few old gray federales say
And now you wear your skin like iron
And lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
Ended up in lefty's mouth
The poets tell how Pancho fell
"They could have had him any day"
Pancho needs your prayers, it's true
The day they laid poor Pancho low
We only let him go so long
She began to cry when you said, "Goodbye"
