Frank's alt country song of the day
Benjamin Frank:
In light of Rich Men North of Richmond becoming a surprise hit and making country music more of a joke to many people, I'd like to help reclaim the wonderfulness of traditional and alternative country music.
A personal statement and an anthem to start with. Also, one of the best music videos ever.
Donerail:
I know we've had our differences on this blog but learning you're an alt-country fan has significantly improved my impression of you. Steve Earle is great.
💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his):
Quote from: Taylor Swift Boat Veterans for Truth on August 23, 2023, 03:41:51 PM
I know we've had our differences on this blog but learning you're an alt-country fan has significantly improved my impression of you. Steve Earle is great.
Before the album came out there was a demo (?) version of this that was just Evan on guitar. I can't find it now, but I liked that version even better. It's a great song either way.
free my dawg:
Benjamin Frank:
Thanks for the songs.
This is one of alt country's finest songs by one of its best musicians, the late great Townes Van Zandt.
Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard had a hit country cover of this song in 1983 and many people named their pets Pancho and Lefty as a result and almost certainly never knew who first paired the names.
The song was released in 1972 during the 'anti hero' cultural period and the song can be read two ways. Pancho and Lefty are both outlaw bandits and the song can be interpreted as a story of Lefty betraying his friend Pancho to the 'federales' to secure his own freedom: The day they laid poor Pancho low, Lefty split for Ohio, where he got the bread to go, there ain't nobody knows.
But, the song can also be interpreted as a contrast of fame vs. anonymity: live hard, die young and be immortalized as Pancho, or outlive your brief period of fame as Lefty did and end up living unknown: the reason nobody knows where Lefty get the money to relocate to Ohio is because nobody ever cared to find out.
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