Jul 092007
There are many theories about Lefty's role in Pancho's downfall – none of them entirely conclusive, in my opinion. Did the Federales pay Lefty to betray Pancho? Did Pancho and Lefty even know each other? Are they in fact living parallel lives in two different centuries?
So many questions, so few answers. Decide for yourself.
This song has been covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to the Wrinkly Romeos, but here's the man who wrote it, Townes Van Zandt, with Pancho and Lefty:
Killer song. If memory serves me, Willie Nelson did a version, and Townes Van Zandt was in the video.
A little synchronicity. I had the iPod on shuffle while driving into work today. The last song played was Lucinda Williams. "Drunken Angel", which was written about Van Zandt.
Not to mention Black-headed Boy by Guy Clark, also written for Townes.
Willie did a version of P&L. So did Bob Dylan, Emmy-Lou and Linda Ronstadt. And a hundred others.
A true legend. There's a brilliant cd of Townes, Steve Earle and Guy Clarke doing an acoustic gig together. Still love Joe Browne's version of Pancho and Left, but that might be a bit biased on my part.
Drunken Angel was not written about TVZ but about Blaze Foley. Google can fill you in on details.
Someone Else – you are right. I could have sworn I heard Lucinda Williams on an NPR interview, saying it was about TVZ. But I probably misheard, it seems, (according to Google), TVZ also wrote a song about Blaze Foley.
More to the point, does anyone have a number for the cheap hotel?
As a lefty, I say Lefty was framed. Everyone thought we were from the Devil in ages past, so I'm sure he just got a bad rep.
Pancho left 'is liver in a cheap hotel. Just kidding Bock…great song…thanks.
Look, it's a great fuckin song. Even if it wasn't a song, it would be a great story, or a great poem or something.
I wish I could have written a collection of little vignettes that fit together so well. (Or that don't, depending on how you view it).
This is known as fruitful ambiguity.