Narrative is a key aspect in the repertoire of country music. From party time “drinkin’ beer ’n’ whiskey” to the heartbreak of “my gal gone left me”, to songs about work, faith and family, these songs are all stories. Today, it’s all about family and betrayal.
One of country’s best songwriters and the teller of today’s tale was Townes van Zandt, the third man of tragic endings in a row on the Friday Song. Omnipresent in my personal top five songwriters and one of the guiding lights in both the genres of folk and country, Townes wrote great standards: If I Needed You, Loretta and Tecumseh Valley are among them.
Arguably though, Townes’ best known song is the one about two brothers: Poncho & Lefty, today’s pick. The song has been covered by hundreds – it was first made famous by Emmylou Harris, and was a country number one for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. It’s an age-old theme about two very different brothers; Lefty, the sweet loving one, who loves his mama, but leaves home to head south to seek his fortune and Poncho, the mean, troublemaker brother, who had a horse “which was as fast as polished steel” and wore “his gun outside of his pants, for the honest world to feel”.
Not “see” but “feel”! And it’s another of those songs that, Townes himself said, “came from out of the blue. It came through me and it’s a real nice song”.
It’s a song about betrayal too, as Pancho meets his end in the deserts of Mexico at the hands of the federales, while Lefty is permitted, it would seem, to return to America –
but lives out a life of sadness and regret, presumably for revealing the whereabouts of his brother Pancho.
It’s a simple, heart wrenching tragedy and the life stories of two people, with some other bit parts too, in just four minutes. It’s one of my favourite stories in all of contemporary music and one of my top songs too, played out by Townes’ acoustic guitar and vocal and Vassar Clements’ fiddle. Enjoy this sad but enthralling song today and always.
Good weekend!
I started a music WhatsApp group in 2023. I send one song a week on a Friday, with links to both Apple and Spotify, and an accompanying narrative/capsule piece. You’ll read it here on a Sunday. If you want to engage about a song, get a playlist or just get in touch, email me on [email protected].
Listen to Poncho & Lefty on Spotify here.
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