Chords for Townes Van Zandt explains Pancho and Lefty
Tempo:
81.2 bpm
Chords used:
Bb
Ab
A
F
Eb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
A little bit about Poncho and Lefty first.
I understand it was kind of laying there for a while, about 10 years.
You recorded it, a couple [Bb] other people recorded it, and then it really hit big, I guess, with Willie Nelson recording it.
Well, Willie and Harold Hager.
And they could record [F] Happy Birthday and
I know, [Ab] that's true.
But it's been [Bb] recorded before.
Amy Lou Harrison, Herod Axton recorded it, and I recorded it.
And I wrote it in Dallas about 10 years ago, and it was one of those songs that is hard to
I realize that I wrote it, but it's hard to take credit for the writing, because it came from out of the blue.
It was like, it came through me, and it's a real nice song.
And I think I've finally found out what it's about.
I've always wondered what it was about.
I kind of always knew it wasn't about Poncho Villa, and then somebody told me that Poncho Villa had a buddy
whose name in Spanish meant Lefty.
That's strange, huh?
Yeah, it is.
But in my song, Poncho gets hung.
[Ab] They only let him hang around at kindness, I suppose.
And the real Poncho Villa was [F] assassinated.
But [Dbm] on the way, me and the band were going [Bb] to Houston, and [F] just outside of Brenham, we were in a couple cars,
and the car that I was [Db] driving, we got stopped by these two policemen, and I had to go back to their car.
And I was [Ab] going 67 miles an [Ab] hour, and middle of the night, getting to the gig.
[D]
And [C] they asked me if I'd been drinking.
I said, no sir, [A] not since last night.
[B]
And they swallowed that.
That's [Bm] cool.
And they said, well, what do you do for a living?
I said, [Bb] well, I'm a songwriter, and they both kind of looked around like, pitiful.
You are the lowlifes.
And so onto that, I added, I wrote that song Poncho and [A] Lefty.
You ever heard of that song Poncho and [A] Lefty?
I wrote that.
And they looked back [E] around, and they looked at each other and [A] started grinning.
And it turns out that their squad car, you know, their [Bb] partnership, right?
It was two guys.
It was an Anglo and a [A] Hispanic guy.
And it turns out [Bb] they're called Poncho and Lefty from the Burton [Ab] County Sheriff's Department.
And they looked around [Eb] at me, and this policeman said,
I wrote Poncho and Lefty, you heard that?
And they looked at each other and grinned.
He looked around at me and says, you promised?
And I mean, I've never had a policeman ask me if I promised or not.
And I said, well, yeah, sure, for sure.
And he says, well, at the station house, when we get called on the radio,
they call for Poncho and Lefty.
Wow.
So I got off the speeding ticket.
Well, good.
I had to pay an expired inspection sticker and a failure to report change of address.
Oh, they'll get you on something.
Yeah, well, they had to.
And I couldn't help it when I got out of the car.
It was the middle of the night.
I got out of the police car to go back to my car,
which the lead guitar player was in and my wife was in.
I'm sure they figured we were headed for downtown Brenham, right?
Yeah.
And I couldn't help it, man.
I had to ask them, look, you guys, which one is Poncho and which one is Lefty?
Right?
And it turns out the [Bb] Anglo was Poncho.
[Eb]
And the Hispanic was Lefty.
And just the opposite of what you would have thought.
I'm sure they were on the, it was a real, I mean, it was a treat for everybody.
And a moving, you know, speeding is reported to your insurance company.
Oh, yeah, I know.
But I wasn't speeding very bad.
But inspection sticker was not.
Yeah, so it helped you out anyhow.
So I think maybe that's what it, maybe that's who it's about, those two guys.
I hope I never, ever see them again.
[N]
I understand it was kind of laying there for a while, about 10 years.
You recorded it, a couple [Bb] other people recorded it, and then it really hit big, I guess, with Willie Nelson recording it.
Well, Willie and Harold Hager.
And they could record [F] Happy Birthday and
I know, [Ab] that's true.
But it's been [Bb] recorded before.
Amy Lou Harrison, Herod Axton recorded it, and I recorded it.
And I wrote it in Dallas about 10 years ago, and it was one of those songs that is hard to
I realize that I wrote it, but it's hard to take credit for the writing, because it came from out of the blue.
It was like, it came through me, and it's a real nice song.
And I think I've finally found out what it's about.
I've always wondered what it was about.
I kind of always knew it wasn't about Poncho Villa, and then somebody told me that Poncho Villa had a buddy
whose name in Spanish meant Lefty.
That's strange, huh?
Yeah, it is.
But in my song, Poncho gets hung.
[Ab] They only let him hang around at kindness, I suppose.
And the real Poncho Villa was [F] assassinated.
But [Dbm] on the way, me and the band were going [Bb] to Houston, and [F] just outside of Brenham, we were in a couple cars,
and the car that I was [Db] driving, we got stopped by these two policemen, and I had to go back to their car.
And I was [Ab] going 67 miles an [Ab] hour, and middle of the night, getting to the gig.
[D]
And [C] they asked me if I'd been drinking.
I said, no sir, [A] not since last night.
[B]
And they swallowed that.
That's [Bm] cool.
And they said, well, what do you do for a living?
I said, [Bb] well, I'm a songwriter, and they both kind of looked around like, pitiful.
You are the lowlifes.
And so onto that, I added, I wrote that song Poncho and [A] Lefty.
You ever heard of that song Poncho and [A] Lefty?
I wrote that.
And they looked back [E] around, and they looked at each other and [A] started grinning.
And it turns out that their squad car, you know, their [Bb] partnership, right?
It was two guys.
It was an Anglo and a [A] Hispanic guy.
And it turns out [Bb] they're called Poncho and Lefty from the Burton [Ab] County Sheriff's Department.
And they looked around [Eb] at me, and this policeman said,
I wrote Poncho and Lefty, you heard that?
And they looked at each other and grinned.
He looked around at me and says, you promised?
And I mean, I've never had a policeman ask me if I promised or not.
And I said, well, yeah, sure, for sure.
And he says, well, at the station house, when we get called on the radio,
they call for Poncho and Lefty.
Wow.
So I got off the speeding ticket.
Well, good.
I had to pay an expired inspection sticker and a failure to report change of address.
Oh, they'll get you on something.
Yeah, well, they had to.
And I couldn't help it when I got out of the car.
It was the middle of the night.
I got out of the police car to go back to my car,
which the lead guitar player was in and my wife was in.
I'm sure they figured we were headed for downtown Brenham, right?
Yeah.
And I couldn't help it, man.
I had to ask them, look, you guys, which one is Poncho and which one is Lefty?
Right?
And it turns out the [Bb] Anglo was Poncho.
[Eb]
And the Hispanic was Lefty.
And just the opposite of what you would have thought.
I'm sure they were on the, it was a real, I mean, it was a treat for everybody.
And a moving, you know, speeding is reported to your insurance company.
Oh, yeah, I know.
But I wasn't speeding very bad.
But inspection sticker was not.
Yeah, so it helped you out anyhow.
So I think maybe that's what it, maybe that's who it's about, those two guys.
I hope I never, ever see them again.
[N]
Key:
Bb
Ab
A
F
Eb
Bb
Ab
A
A little bit about Poncho and Lefty first.
I understand it was kind of laying there for a while, about 10 years.
You recorded it, a couple [Bb] other people recorded it, and then it really hit big, I guess, with Willie Nelson recording it.
Well, Willie and Harold Hager.
And they could record [F] Happy Birthday and_
I know, [Ab] that's true.
But it's been [Bb] recorded before.
_ Amy Lou Harrison, Herod Axton recorded it, and I recorded it.
_ And I wrote it in Dallas about 10 years ago, and _ it was one of those songs that _ _ is hard to_
I realize that I wrote it, but it's hard to take credit for the writing, because it came from out of the blue.
It was like, it came through me, and it's a real nice song.
And I think I've _ finally found out _ what it's about.
I've always wondered what it was about.
I kind of always knew it wasn't about Poncho Villa, and then somebody told me that Poncho Villa had a buddy
whose name in Spanish meant Lefty.
_ _ That's strange, huh?
Yeah, it is.
But in my song, Poncho gets hung.
[Ab] They only let him hang around at kindness, I suppose.
And the real Poncho Villa was _ [F] assassinated.
_ But [Dbm] on the way, me and the band were going [Bb] to Houston, and [F] just outside of Brenham, we were in a couple cars,
and the car that I was [Db] driving, we got stopped by these two policemen, and I had to go back to their car.
And _ I was [Ab] going 67 miles an [Ab] hour, and middle of the night, getting to the gig.
[D]
And _ [C] they asked me if I'd been drinking.
I said, no sir, [A] not since last night.
_ [B] _
And they swallowed that.
That's [Bm] cool.
And they said, well, what do you do for a living?
I said, [Bb] well, I'm a songwriter, and they both kind of looked around like, _ pitiful.
You are the lowlifes. _ _
And so onto that, I added, I wrote that song Poncho and [A] Lefty.
You ever heard of that song Poncho and [A] Lefty?
I wrote that.
_ And they looked back [E] around, and they looked at each other and [A] started grinning.
And it turns out that their squad car, you know, their [Bb] partnership, right?
It was two guys.
It was an Anglo and a [A] Hispanic guy.
And it turns out [Bb] they're called Poncho and Lefty from the Burton [Ab] County Sheriff's Department.
And they looked around [Eb] at me, and this policeman said,
I wrote Poncho and Lefty, you heard that?
And they looked at each other and grinned.
He looked around at me and says, you promised?
And I mean, I've never had a policeman ask me if I promised or not.
And I said, well, yeah, sure, for sure.
_ And he says, well, at the station house, when we get called on the radio,
they call for Poncho and Lefty.
_ Wow.
_ So I got off the speeding ticket.
Well, good.
I had to pay an expired inspection sticker and a failure to report change of address.
Oh, they'll get you on something.
Yeah, well, they had to.
And I couldn't help it when I got out of the car.
It was the middle of the night.
I got out of the police car to go back to my car,
which the lead guitar player was in and my wife was in.
I'm sure they figured we were headed for downtown Brenham, right?
Yeah.
And I _ couldn't help it, man.
I had to ask them, look, you guys, which one is Poncho and which one is Lefty?
Right?
And it turns out the [Bb] Anglo was Poncho.
_ _ [Eb]
And the Hispanic was Lefty.
And just the opposite of what you would have thought.
I'm sure they were on the, it was a real, _ _ I mean, it was a treat for everybody.
And a moving, you know, speeding is reported to your insurance company.
Oh, yeah, I know.
But I wasn't speeding very bad.
_ But inspection sticker was not.
Yeah, so it helped you out anyhow.
So I think maybe that's what it, maybe that's who it's about, those two guys.
I hope I never, ever see them again.
_ _ [N] _
I understand it was kind of laying there for a while, about 10 years.
You recorded it, a couple [Bb] other people recorded it, and then it really hit big, I guess, with Willie Nelson recording it.
Well, Willie and Harold Hager.
And they could record [F] Happy Birthday and_
I know, [Ab] that's true.
But it's been [Bb] recorded before.
_ Amy Lou Harrison, Herod Axton recorded it, and I recorded it.
_ And I wrote it in Dallas about 10 years ago, and _ it was one of those songs that _ _ is hard to_
I realize that I wrote it, but it's hard to take credit for the writing, because it came from out of the blue.
It was like, it came through me, and it's a real nice song.
And I think I've _ finally found out _ what it's about.
I've always wondered what it was about.
I kind of always knew it wasn't about Poncho Villa, and then somebody told me that Poncho Villa had a buddy
whose name in Spanish meant Lefty.
_ _ That's strange, huh?
Yeah, it is.
But in my song, Poncho gets hung.
[Ab] They only let him hang around at kindness, I suppose.
And the real Poncho Villa was _ [F] assassinated.
_ But [Dbm] on the way, me and the band were going [Bb] to Houston, and [F] just outside of Brenham, we were in a couple cars,
and the car that I was [Db] driving, we got stopped by these two policemen, and I had to go back to their car.
And _ I was [Ab] going 67 miles an [Ab] hour, and middle of the night, getting to the gig.
[D]
And _ [C] they asked me if I'd been drinking.
I said, no sir, [A] not since last night.
_ [B] _
And they swallowed that.
That's [Bm] cool.
And they said, well, what do you do for a living?
I said, [Bb] well, I'm a songwriter, and they both kind of looked around like, _ pitiful.
You are the lowlifes. _ _
And so onto that, I added, I wrote that song Poncho and [A] Lefty.
You ever heard of that song Poncho and [A] Lefty?
I wrote that.
_ And they looked back [E] around, and they looked at each other and [A] started grinning.
And it turns out that their squad car, you know, their [Bb] partnership, right?
It was two guys.
It was an Anglo and a [A] Hispanic guy.
And it turns out [Bb] they're called Poncho and Lefty from the Burton [Ab] County Sheriff's Department.
And they looked around [Eb] at me, and this policeman said,
I wrote Poncho and Lefty, you heard that?
And they looked at each other and grinned.
He looked around at me and says, you promised?
And I mean, I've never had a policeman ask me if I promised or not.
And I said, well, yeah, sure, for sure.
_ And he says, well, at the station house, when we get called on the radio,
they call for Poncho and Lefty.
_ Wow.
_ So I got off the speeding ticket.
Well, good.
I had to pay an expired inspection sticker and a failure to report change of address.
Oh, they'll get you on something.
Yeah, well, they had to.
And I couldn't help it when I got out of the car.
It was the middle of the night.
I got out of the police car to go back to my car,
which the lead guitar player was in and my wife was in.
I'm sure they figured we were headed for downtown Brenham, right?
Yeah.
And I _ couldn't help it, man.
I had to ask them, look, you guys, which one is Poncho and which one is Lefty?
Right?
And it turns out the [Bb] Anglo was Poncho.
_ _ [Eb]
And the Hispanic was Lefty.
And just the opposite of what you would have thought.
I'm sure they were on the, it was a real, _ _ I mean, it was a treat for everybody.
And a moving, you know, speeding is reported to your insurance company.
Oh, yeah, I know.
But I wasn't speeding very bad.
_ But inspection sticker was not.
Yeah, so it helped you out anyhow.
So I think maybe that's what it, maybe that's who it's about, those two guys.
I hope I never, ever see them again.
_ _ [N] _