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