Nadler studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she began her performing career after writing songs for many years.
The foundation of her sound is her haunting mezzo-soprano, and a delicate 6-string acoustic guitar, often accompanied by a variety of instruments, including electric guitar, theremin, and piano. Nadler writes strange, yet classic, melancholy songs. Her voice is often bathed in a wash of reverb and space echo and creates a ghostly, atmospheric feeling to the music.
She has American Gothic leanings; her songs often take place in an imagined, idealistic time with a cast of characters of her own creation.
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marissa-Nadler/300932499775
Bandcamp: http://marissanadler.bandcamp.com/
Pancho and Lefty
Marissa Nadler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is gonna keep you free and clean.
Now you wear your skin like iron,
And your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
But her favorite one it seems.
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.
Pancho was a bandit boys,
His horse was fast as polished steel,
He wore his gun outside his pants,
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico,
And nobody heard his dying words.
Ah, but that's the way it goes.
And all the Federales say,
They could have had him any day.
They only let him hang around,
Out of kindness, I suppose.
Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth.
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain't nobody knows.
And all the Federales say,
They could have had him any day.
They only let him slip away,
Out of kindness, I suppose.
Well the poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty's living in a cheap hotel.
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told.
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too.
He just did what he had to do,
And now he's growing old.
And a few grey Federales say
They could have had him any day.
They only let go so wrong,
Out of kindness, I suppose.
A few gray Federales say
They could have had him any day.
They only let him so wrong,
Out of kindness, I suppose.
The lyrics of Marissa Nadler's "Pancho and Lefty" tell the story of two outlaws and their ultimately doomed fates. The song begins with a reflection on the lifestyle that Pancho and Lefty have chosen for themselves, with the lines "Living on the road my friend, / Is gonna keep you free and clean. / Now you wear your skin like iron, / And your breath as hard as kerosene." The reference to wearing skin like iron suggests a hardness and resilience that develops from living a life on the run, while the comparison of breath to kerosene implies a combustible, potentially dangerous edge to their existence.
Next, we learn about Pancho, a bandit who rode a fast horse and wore his gun outside his pants "for all the honest world to feel." His death in the deserts of Mexico is recounted, "And nobody heard his dying words. / Ah, but that's the way it goes." Lefty, who can no longer sing the blues like he used to, is said to have ended up with some of the dust that Pancho bit and then fled to Ohio after Pancho's death.
The song ends with a call to remember both Pancho and Lefty, stating "Pancho needs your prayers it's true, / But save a few for Lefty too. / He just did what he had to do, / And now he's growing old." The final lines return to the federales, who are criticized for not taking action, "They only let go so wrong, / Out of kindness, I suppose."
Line by Line Meaning
Living on the road my friend,
Living a life on the road, my friend, leads to a simple and free lifestyle.
Is gonna keep you free and clean.
It will help you maintain a pure and independent lifestyle.
Now you wear your skin like iron,
You have toughened up and have become resilient through your experiences.
And your breath as hard as kerosene.
You have become harsh towards life.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
You weren't the only son of your mother.
But her favorite one it seems.
However, it appears that you were her favorite.
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
When you said goodbye, she couldn't help but cry.
And sank into your dreams.
She then fell into her own thoughts.
Pancho was a bandit boys,
Pancho was a notorious outlaw boy.
His horse was fast as polished steel,
His horse was incredibly quick and agile.
He wore his gun outside his pants,
He wore his gun at his waist, flaunting it for everyone to see.
For all the honest world to feel.
So that everyone would know he meant business.
Pancho met his match you know
Pancho encountered someone who could defeat him.
On the deserts down in Mexico,
In the hot and arid regions of Mexico.
And nobody heard his dying words.
He died alone without anyone hearing his final words.
Ah, but that's the way it goes.
Unfortunately, that's just how life works.
And all the Federales say,
The police officers say,
They could have had him any day.
They could have caught him any day.
They only let him hang around,
They allowed him to stay in the area.
Out of kindness, I suppose.
Perhaps they did this out of pity.
Lefty, he can't sing the blues
Lefty is no longer able to play the blues.
All night long like he used to.
Like he used to play them all night long.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
The dust that Pancho ingested in the southern region.
Ended up in Lefty's mouth.
Ended up affecting Lefty, too.
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
The day they buried poor Pancho.
Lefty split for Ohio
Lefty left and went to Ohio.
Where he got the bread to go,
Where he found the money to leave.
There ain't nobody knows.
Nobody knows for sure.
Well the poets tell how Pancho fell,
The poets describe how Pancho was defeated.
And Lefty's living in a cheap hotel.
Lefty is currently residing in a low-cost motel.
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold,
The desert is silent, and Cleveland is frigid.
And so the story ends we're told.
Thus ends the narrative, as we're told.
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
Pancho could use your prayers, that's true.
But save a few for Lefty too.
But don't forget to pray for Lefty as well.
He just did what he had to do,
He simply did what he needed to do.
And now he's growing old.
And now he's growing old.
And a few gray Federales say
And a few old police officers say.
They could have had him any day.
They could have caught him any day.
They only let go so wrong,
They let him go astray.
Out of kindness, I suppose.
Possibly due to altruistic reasons.
Contributed by Blake L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
svoboda simon
lovely. got the other 2 volumes. will get this one too. my daughter loves this project too very much and she is 9.
dan thefan
ThankYou! Very Nourishing version.
jean-luc Scapon
Bravo
J. Horvath
How about an upload of the Poncho and Lefty cover , pretty please?