If people know anything from the late singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997), it’s this song. Van Zandt first recorded “Pancho and Lefty” for his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. It’s been widely covered including in a duet by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard where it got a fair bit of notice, reaching No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart in July of 1983. That same year there was a music video with Nelson as Pancho, and Haggard as Lefty. Van Zandt appeared briefly in it was well.
In broad stroke, the song is about a Mexican bandit named Pancho and his friendship with Lefty, the man who ultimately betrays him. It has been noted that some details in the lyrics mirror the life of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, who was, in 1923, killed by unknown assassins. Van Zandt always said, sure, but it’s more complicated than that.
In any case, it is by many accounts one of the best story songs ever written, certainly a classic.