Joey

Born in Red Brooklyn in the year of who knows when Opened up his eyes to the tune of an accordion Always on the outside of whatever side there was When they asked him why it had to be that way "Well" he answered "just because" Larry was the oldest Joey was next to last They called Joe "Crazy" the baby they called "Kid Blast" Some say they lived off gambling and running numbers too It always seemed they got caught between the mob and the men in blue Joey, Joey King of the streets child of clay Joey, Joey What made them want to come and blow you away There was talk they killed their rivals but the truth was far from that No one ever knew for sure where they were really at When they tried to strangle Larry, Joey almost hit the roof He went out that night to seek revenge thinking he was bulletproof The war broke out at the break of dawn it emptied out the streets Joey and his brothers suffered terrible defeats Till they ventured out behind the lines and took five prisoners They stashed them away in a basement called them amateurs The hostages were trembling when they heard a man exclaim "Let's blow this place to kingdom come let Con Edison take the blame" But Joey stepped up, and he raised his hand and said, "We're not those kind of men It's peace and quiet that we need to go back to work again" Joey, Joey King of the streets child of clay Joey, Joey What made them want to come and blow you away The police department hounded him, they called him Mr. Smith They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with "What time is it" said the judge to Joey when they met "Five to ten" said Joey. The judge says, "That's exactly what you get" He did ten years in Attica, reading Nietzche and Wilhelm Reich They threw him in the hole one time for trying to stop a strike His closest friends were black men 'cause they seemed to understand What it's like to be in society with a shackle on your hand When they let him out in '71 he'd lost a little weight But he dressed like Jimmy Cagney and I swear he did look great He tried to find the way back into the life he left behind To the boss he said, "I've returned and now I want what's mine" Joey, Joey King of the streets child of clay Joey, Joey What made them want to come and blow you away It was true that in his later years he would not carry a gun "I'm around too many children", he'd say, "they should never know of one" Yet he walked right into the clubhouse of his lifelong deadly foe Emptied out the register, said, "Tell 'em it was Crazy Joe" One day they blew him down in a clam bar in New York He could see it coming through the doors as he lifted up his fork He pushed the table over to protect his family Then he staggered out into the streets of Little Italy Joey, Joey King of the streets child of clay Joey, Joey What made them want to come and blow you away Sister Jacqueline and Carmela and mother Mary all did weep I heard his best friend Frankie say, "He ain't dead he's just asleep" Then I saw the old man's limousine head back towards the grave I guess he had to say one last goodbye to the son that he could not save The sun turned cold over President Street and the town of the Brooklyn mourned They said a mass in the old church near the house where he was born And someday if God's in heaven overlooking his preserve I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve Joey, Joey King of the streets child of clay Joey, Joey What made them want to come and blow you away