Poncho, I think was the only son, left home as a kid after killing one of the rich ranchers who he labored for when the man tried to rape his 13 yr old sister in front of their mother. From the sounds of the song, I take it that Lefty had betrayed Poccho, but that seems doubtful, he was ambushed long after he became a farmer (the dust he bit?) & given up on revelotion & politics. The Mexicains Feds would most likely feel favor towards him & let him slip away, he fought in 2 revolutions & a civil war & always championed the poor as did his comrade Zapada (sp?), most others would eventually forget the poor that they started out fighting for. Depending upon what side of the border you came from would shape your opinion of outlaw or hero, but before his raids into the US he was very much a friend to the north untill the US turned on him. We used Poncho Villa as a reason/excuse to train our military, prior to the upcoming war, on the fields of Mexico. The song seems more like a nice romantic picture of a forgotten, fallen, aging hero than a factual account of anything, yet it's still a great song. Another song I always think of with this is (Willie Nelson ?) "Seven Spanish Angels". Barry