Each Friday I pick a song–new, old, borrowed, blue–that’s been on my mind and in my ears, and write a short post about it.

This is “Pancho and Lefty” by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard:

Merle Haggard died this week. His music didn’t necessarily mean a great deal to me directly, but he’s one of those songwriters and musicians whose influence shoots through all kinds of music that does mean a great deal to me.