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