D
Livin' on the road, my friend
A
Was gonna keep you free and clean
G
But now you wear your skin like iron
D                            A
And your breath's as hard as kerosene
G
You weren't your mama's only boy
D                            G
But her favorite one, it seems
Bm                        G    D    A
She began to cry when you said good bye
G                   Bm
And sank into your dreams

[Verse 2]
D
Pancho was a bandit, boys
A
Rode a horse fast as polished steel
G
Wore his guns outside his pants
D                  A
For all the honest world to fear
G
Pancho met his match, you know
       D               G
On the deserts down in Mexico
Bm               G D   A
No one heard his dyin' words
G                     Bm      A
But that's the way it goes

[Chorus]
G
And all the federales say
D                       G
They could have had him any day
Bm                 G   D A
They only let him slip away
        G           Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose

[Verse 3]
D
Now Lefty he can't sing the blues
A
All night long like he used to
G
The dust that Pancho bit down South
D               A
It ended up in Lefty's mouth
G
The day they laid old Pancho low
D                 G
Lefty split for Ohio
Bm                G    D   A
Where he got the bread to go
G                         Bm    A
Well there ain't nobody 'knows

[Chorus]
G
And all the federales say
D                       G
They could have had him any day
Bm                G    D A
They only let him slip away
       G              Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose

[Lead]

[Verse 4]
D
Now poets sing how Pancho fell
A
Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
G
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
D                  A
And so the story ends, we're told
G
Pancho needs your prayers, it's true
D                    G
But save a few for Lefty, too
Bm                   G  D   A
He only did what he had to do
G                     Bm
And now he's growin' old

[Chorus]
G
And all the federales say
D                        G
They could have had him any day
Bm                G  D  A
They only let him go so long
       G              Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose

[Final Chorus]
G
Yes a few old gray federales still say
D                        G
They could have had him any day
Bm                G  D   A
They only let him go so long
       G              Bm
Out of kindness, I suppose