Song of the Day 3/27: Townes Van Zandt, “Pancho and Lefty”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona
Townes Van Zandt’s life and career were too erratic to earn him much credit for his fantastic songs, except from other singers of folkish country tunes and a cult following that’s been going strong since his death in 1997.
But one of his songs, the 1972 outlaw ballad “Pancho and Lefty,” has gained a fairly wide audience and is considered by more than just cultists to be one of the best of its type ever written. Even “Pancho and Lefty” went mostly unheard until Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard scored a hit with it a decade later. Neither had heard of the song before recording it.
With his IQ north of 140, Van Zandt, the son of a wealthy Texas family, had once seemed destined for a career in law or politics. He left school at 22 to pursue a musical career, but beaten down by alcohol, drugs and bipolar disorder, he performed mostly in small clubs. For a while he lived in a cabin without electricity near the Nashville venues where he played.
Pancho and Lefty were border outlaws. Lefty left home young but soon lost his idealism about it. “Living on the road my friend/Was gonna keep you free and clean/And now you wear your skin like iron/And your breath as hard as kerosene.” Pancho’s “horse was fast as polished steel/He wore his gun outside his pants/For all the honest world feel.”
They apparently had a falling out that led to Pancho’s death and flight by Lefty to Ohio, where he was left with just his memories. The song is forgiving of Lefty. “Pancho needs your prayers it’s true/But save a few for Lefty too.” The police seem sympathetic. “All the Federales say/We could have had him any day/We only let him go so long/Out of kindness, I suppose.”
The law was kind to Van Zandt on a road-trip through Texas. The story goes that police stopped his car for expired tags and asked him what he did for a living. “”Well, I’m a songwriter,” he told them. They were unimpressed until he added, “I wrote that song ‘Pancho and Lefty.’ You ever heard that song ‘Pancho and Lefty?’ I wrote that.” Turned out the cops’ code names on the squawk box were Pancho and Lefty. They drove away.
Here’s an informal version of “Pancho and Lefty” by Van Zandt in an outtake from the documentary “Heartworn Highways,” followed by Willie and Merle’s souped-up version.
“Tecumseh Valley” is another often-covered Van Zandt song. This one’s by Nanci Griffith and Arlo Guthrie. Yeah, he did like the sad ones.
Van Zandt said this song was inspired by a story of Civil War soldiers too wounded to get off the battlefield as the fighting raged around them.
Steve Earle wanted to name his son Townes but his wife refused because TVZ was just too erratic and dangerous and tortured (but lyrical). So they made it his middle name. Still tortured (but lyrical).
Also, congratulations to the governor for proposing new tax brackets and raising taxes on the wealthiest while cutting them for everybody who makes less than 134,000.
Speaking of sad ones, this one will rip your guts out…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-zKjfO2E8
Steve Earle once said of Townes, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.”
Earle is now embarrassed that he said that, but Van Zandt was a mentor to Earle in the beginning of Earle’s career. After Townes died, Earle wrote one of his best songs for him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcDBl_-OiQM
Unfortunately, Van Zandt’s record companies felt it necessary to overdub a lot of his songs with multiple instruments. The best way to hear Townes is stripped down, with just him and his guitar. “Live at the Old Quarter” is still one of the best live albums ever recorded, by anyone.
One of the best concerts I’ve ever attended was when Townes played in Wilmington 40 years ago next month. I still dig out the tape from time to time.
Saw this quote from Townes:
“Well, many of my songs, they aren’t sad, they’re hopeless.”
Steve Earle named his son, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, in honor of Townes Van Zandt. Justin died too young of drugs. Here’s one of my favorite songs of his: “Champagne Corolla” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLJETZyfb7I
Saw Justin Townes Earle at the Gild Hall.
I think that, even to his dying day, he had daddy issues. They certainly surfaced during the concert.
I wasn’t lucky to see him in person but what’s left of Justin Townes Earle on Youtube makes me feel like I am listening in on some vintage Sun Studio sessions.
I remember Steve Earle saying something like, “OK, I was a shitty dad. Get over it.”
Steve Earle survived his own serious drug issues. He was never on my playlist except for his contributions to Lucinda Williams’ s “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” which is one of my Mt Rushmore albums.
Really liked his first, “Guitar Town”. Both the title track and “Someday” belong on any Americana playlist. Here’s the latter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyi6mFZv9SI
Emmylou Harris does a good version of “Pancho & Lefty” but I love all her stuff.
Oh, man, you’re really in my wheelhouse now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PytxPaU6k4
Emmylou was the well-deserved beneficiary of one of the greatest tribute songs ever. This gives me chills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi5A9OCAyIk