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