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"Pancho and Lefty", originally "Poncho and Lefty", [a] is a song written by American country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Perhaps his most well-known song, Van Zandt recorded his original version of this song for his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt . [ 14 ]
Pancho & Lefty by Townes Van Zandt (1972) became well-known through a honky tonk album by outlaw country musicians Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, released in 1983.Original vinyl copies from 1983 give the album's title as "Poncho & Lefty" on the cover, as well as on the inner sleeve and the record label; the album's title track is similarly rendered "Poncho & Lefty" on the cover, inner sleeve ...
Several of Van Zandt's compositions were recorded by other artists, such as Emmylou Harris who, with Don Williams, had a No. 3 country hit in 1981 with "If I Needed You," and Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, the pair taking "Pancho and Lefty" to No. 1 on the country charts in 1983. Van Zandt had a small cameo appearance in the video for the song.
The album includes what is Van Zandt's signature tune, [citation needed] the enigmatic "Pancho and Lefty", which Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard took to number one on the country charts in 1983. Although "Pancho and Lefty" is the song most associated with Van Zandt, "If I Needed You" is his most covered composition.
By the middle 1980s, with royalties coming in for "If I Needed You" (a No. 3 country hit for Emmylou Harris and Don Williams in 1981) and "Pancho and Lefty" (a No. 1 country smash for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard in 1983), Van Zandt was enjoying what was for him a stable home life for the first time with his third wife Jeanene and their new son Will.
Recordings of "Pancho and Lefty" and "Silver Ships of Andilar" had initially appeared on his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. A recording of "Rex's Blues" was included in Van Zandt's 1977 live album Live at the Old Quarter [6] and on 1978's Flyin' Shoes. [7] "Snake Song" was also released on Flyin' Shoes.
Van Zandt is introduced by Dale Soffar and, after apologizing for the busted air conditioning, performs a gentle reading of "Pancho and Lefty", describing how he wrote the song while traveling near Dallas with Daniel Antopolsky. At the end of the song, the singer remarks, "I've never heard it so quiet in here."
Pancho & Lefty: 1983 "Pancho and Lefty" 1 21 1 "We're Strangers Again" Leona Williams 42 — — Heart to Heart: 1987 "If I Could Only Fly" Willie Nelson 58 — 50 Seashores of Old Mexico: 2000 "Wreck on the Highway" Chester Smith — — — California Blend: 2015 "It's All Going to Pot" Willie Nelson 48 — — Django & Jimmie