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