* = one strum
[Intro]
e|--10---9--7---9--7--5--5----|--5--3--2--3--2--2------|
B|--10--10--8--10--8--5--5h7--|--7--5--3--5--3--2h3----|
G|----------------------------|------------------------| x2
D|----------------------------|------------------------|
A|----------------------------|------------------------|
E|----------------------------|------------------------|  h = hammer on
[Strophe]
D 
Livin' on the road, my friend 
A 
Was gonna keep you free and clean 
G 
And now you wear your skin like iron 
D                            A 
And your breath's as hard as kerosene 
G 
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 goodbye 
G                    Bm       A/C#* 
(And) sank into your dreams
[Strophe]
D 
Pancho was a bandit, boys 
A 
His horse was fast as polished steel 
G 
He wore his gun outside his pants 
D                  A 
For all the honest world to feel 
G 
Well, Pancho met his match, you know 
       D               G 
On the deserts down in Mexico 
Bm               G  D  A 
Nobody heard his dyin' words 
G                         Bm     A* 
Ah, but that's the way it goes
[Refrain]
G 
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     A/C#* 
Out of kindness, I suppose
[Strophe]
D 
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 
Ended up in Lefty's mouth 
G 
The day they laid poor Pancho low 
D               G 
Lefty split for Ohio 
Bm               G    D   A 
Where he got the bread to go 
G                  Bm      A* 
There ain't nobody knows
[Refrain]
G 
All the federales say 
D                       G 
They could have had him any day 
Bm              G  D  A 
We only let him slip away 
       G              Bm     A* 
Out of kindness, I suppose
[Strophe]
D 
The poets tell how Pancho fell 
A 
And 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    A* 
And now he's growin' old
[Refrain]
G 
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     A/C#* 
Out of kindness, I suppose
[Refrain]
G 
A few gray federales say 
D                       G 
They could have had him any day 
Bm                G  D  A 
They only let him go so long 
       G              Bm        Gmaj7  A D 
Out of kindness, I suppose