the proposed meanings of this song are totally different from the understanding I developed by listening to it — I don’t know if I’m crazy, but I always took it to mean that Lefty was an American who came down to hunt Pancho — He killed him where the Federales refused to. They said they could have but they didn’t. I took the line about dust that Pancho bit ending up in Lefty’s mouth to mean that Lefty was following him. He killed him, got paid and then went back up north. The day they buried Pancho was the day Lefty left. It’s unusual to ask for prayers for the killer — that’s why Van Zandt reminds us to save a few for Lefty too.
the proposed meanings of this song are totally different from the understanding I developed by listening to it — I don’t know if I’m crazy, but I always took it to mean that Lefty was an American who came down to hunt Pancho — He killed him where the Federales refused to. They said they could have but they didn’t. I took the line about dust that Pancho bit ending up in Lefty’s mouth to mean that Lefty was following him. He killed him, got paid and then went back up north. The day they buried Pancho was the day Lefty left. It’s unusual to ask for prayers for the killer — that’s why Van Zandt reminds us to save a few for Lefty too.
by the way, I love the imagery in this song.
by the way, I love the imagery in this song.