Starkist
10-13-2002, 02:05 AM
Now for something near and dear to my heart: literary analysis. If you hate the song in question, don't post. I'd like peoples' input on what it means, what it says to you, the motivation of the lyrics. I already posted this one once in GED, but I'll put it here for people to analyze. My analysis is at the bottom.
Poncho And Lefty
Living on the road my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
Your breath's 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
Poncho was a bandit boys
His horse was fast as polished steel
Wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel
Poncho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dying words
That's the way it goes
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 Poncho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth
The day they laid poor Poncho low
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go
There ain't nobody knows
All the federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness I suppose
The poets tell how Poncho fell
Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
So the story ends we're told
Poncho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too
He just did what he had to do
Now he's growing old
All the federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him go so long
Out of kindness I suppose
A few gray federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him go so wrong
Out of kindness I suppose
My analysis: My first impression was that Poncho and Lefty are brothers ("You weren't your mama's only boy, but her favorite one it seems.") They wander for awhile and eventually Poncho is killed in Mexico. At first I thought that Lefty's sin was running in cowardice ("Lefty split for Ohio") but after hearing SomUnknown's thoughts on it I agree that it seems like Lefty in fact killed Poncho. In fear he ran, and the federales could have caught him but let him go for whatever reason. His conscience catches up with him and torments him. ("Lefty he can't sing the blues....the dust that Poncho bit down south ended up in Lefty's mouth") Eventually he is caught in his old age and grows old in prison. ("They only let him go so long.... and now he's growing old")
A few questions though. Who are the "they" that laid poor Poncho low? In the same vein, when it says they laid him low does that mean they killed him or buried him? And what about the line that states "no one heard his dying words" ? If Lefty killed him, would he not have heard them? Did Poncho die alone in the desert perhaps? Final question: Who is the author addressing in the first verse? At first I assumed it was Poncho, but I'm not sure. Who is "my friend" ?
Analyze away!
Poncho And Lefty
Living on the road my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
Your breath's 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
Poncho was a bandit boys
His horse was fast as polished steel
Wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel
Poncho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dying words
That's the way it goes
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 Poncho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth
The day they laid poor Poncho low
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go
There ain't nobody knows
All the federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness I suppose
The poets tell how Poncho fell
Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
So the story ends we're told
Poncho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too
He just did what he had to do
Now he's growing old
All the federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him go so long
Out of kindness I suppose
A few gray federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him go so wrong
Out of kindness I suppose
My analysis: My first impression was that Poncho and Lefty are brothers ("You weren't your mama's only boy, but her favorite one it seems.") They wander for awhile and eventually Poncho is killed in Mexico. At first I thought that Lefty's sin was running in cowardice ("Lefty split for Ohio") but after hearing SomUnknown's thoughts on it I agree that it seems like Lefty in fact killed Poncho. In fear he ran, and the federales could have caught him but let him go for whatever reason. His conscience catches up with him and torments him. ("Lefty he can't sing the blues....the dust that Poncho bit down south ended up in Lefty's mouth") Eventually he is caught in his old age and grows old in prison. ("They only let him go so long.... and now he's growing old")
A few questions though. Who are the "they" that laid poor Poncho low? In the same vein, when it says they laid him low does that mean they killed him or buried him? And what about the line that states "no one heard his dying words" ? If Lefty killed him, would he not have heard them? Did Poncho die alone in the desert perhaps? Final question: Who is the author addressing in the first verse? At first I assumed it was Poncho, but I'm not sure. Who is "my friend" ?
Analyze away!