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