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