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Panchoand Lefiy
Words qnd music by TownesVan Zandt
"Pancho and Lefty" first appeared on Townes Van Zandt's 1972 releaseThe Late Great Townes Van Zandt. In an interview featured in the 2004 biopic Be Here to Love Me, Van Zandt says of the tune, "I realize that I wrote it, but it's hard to take credit . . . becauseit came from out of the blue." I The song features an alternating-bass fingerpicking pattern similar to the one shown below. For the G chords. Van Zandt often substituted G6 chords or four-finger G7 chords, both ofwhich are shown here. He aiso used his thumb to fret the bass note of his F chords, leaving his pinky free

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to embellish the chord with a D note on rhe third fret of the B string-one of his favorite F chord moves is shown beloq at right. If you have trouble fretting an F chord with your thumb, use the barre-chord version shown at left with the other standard chord shapes.On the original recording, Van Zandt played a four-measure intro-two measureseach of G and Am. Though not shown here, you can play this by applying the picking pattern to a G-Am chord changebefore starting the song. Van Zandt recorded the song with a capo on the first fret, but at live shows he often played it a half step higher, with the capo on the second fret. _ANDREWDUBROCK

PickingPattern Capo I Chords

x3201O x3201 0

Van Zandtt G6 Chord

Van Zandtt G7 Chord

Van Zandt's F Chord and Move

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C G Livin'on the road,my friend,isgonnakeepyou free and clean Nowyouwearyourskin iron,yourbreath's hardaskerosene like as F C F Youweren'tyourmama's onlyboy,but herfavorite one,it seems Am F G7 F Am Shebeganto crywhenyou saidgoodbye,sankintoyourdreams C G

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C G And LefV,he can'tsingthe bluesall nightlong likehe usedto G The dustthat Pancho down southended up in Lefty'smouth bit F C F The day they laid poor Pancholow, Leftysplit for Ohio A m F G F A m Wherehe got the breadto go, aw there ain't nobodyknows RepeatChorus ( T h e y n l y l e t h i m s l i pa w a y . . . ) o C G Well,the poestell how Panchofell, Lefty's and lMn'ina cheaphotel F C G quietandCleveland's sothe storyends, Thedeser{s cold, we'retold F C F Pancho needsyour prayers, true, but savea few for Lefty, it's too A m F G F A m He just did what he had to do and now he'sgrowin' old Repeat Chorus (two times) (A few great federales say...) ( T h e y n l yl e t h i m g o s o w r o n g . . . ) o

2 . Well, Panchowas a bandit, boys,his horsewas fast

as polishedsteel F C G Heworehisgun oubide hispants allthe honest for worldto feel F C F Pancho met hismatch, you know,on the deserbs down in Mexico A m F G T F A m And nobody heardhisdyin'words.aw, butthat's the way it goes Chorus F C F And all the federales they could'vehad him any day say A m F G F A m They only let him hang aroundout of kindness, suppose I 4.

ACOUSTIC GUITAR April 2010 l

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