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