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