The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #6370 Message #2225734
Posted By: GUEST,Russ
31-Dec-07 - 04:13 PM
Thread Name: Lyr ADD: Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)
Subject: RE: The Ballad of Pancho and Lefty
Dick, Thanks for the response.
I guess it all depends on what you mean by "tell" and "a" and "story".
I sing several versions of "The cruel mother." That's as traditional as you can get.
They all purport to tell a story, but according to my belief system the story cannot possibly be true.
So when I sing the song I sing it as vague and evocative. It's a song about infanticide and its consequences, not about a specific instance of infanticide.
I sing Pancho and Lefty as a song about betrayal and its consequences, not about a specific instance of betrayal.