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Desire session 4, Columbia Studio E, NYC - 14.jul.1975, earlier take (1?)
Desire session 4, Columbia Studio E, NYC - 30.jul.1975, album version
Born in Red Hook 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 an' runnin' numbers too
It always seemed they got caught between the mob an' the men in blue.
[ / They always seem to walk betwaenn the mob an' the men in blue. ]
Joey, Joey, king of the street, child of clay
Joey, Joey, what made them want to come an' blow [your head / you] away?
There was talk they killed their rivals but the truth was far from that
No one ever knew for sure what they were really at
When they tried to strangle Larry, Joey almost hit the roof
He went out that night to seek revenge thinkin' he was bullet-proof.
Then the war broke out at the break of dawn, it emptied out the streets
Joey an' his brothers suffered terrible defeats
Till they ventured out behind the lines and took five prisoners
They stashed them away in a basement, called 'em amateurs.
The hostages were tremblin' when they heard a man explain
"Let's blow this place to kingdom come, let Con Edison take the blame"
But Joey stepped up, he raised his hand, said, "We ain't those kind of men
It's peace an' quiet that we need to go back to work again."
Joey, Joey, king of the street, child of clay
Joey, Joey, what made them want to come an' blow [your head / 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, judge says, "That's exactly what you get".
He did ten years in Attica readin' Nietzsche an' Wilhem Reich
They threw him in the hole one time for tryin' to stop a strike
His closest friends were black men 'cause they seem to understand
What it's like to be in society with a shackle on your hand.
They let him out in '71, he'd lost a little weight
But he dressed like Jimmy Cagney an' i swear he did look great
He tried to find a way back in to the life that he left behind
To the boss he said, "I have returned an' now i want what's mine".
Joey, Joey, king of the street, child of clay
Joey, Joey, what made them want to come an' blow [your head / 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 life-long deadly foe
Emptied out the register, said, "Tell 'em it was Crazy Joe."
[ One day / They came for him and ] they blew him down in a clam bar in New York
He could see it comin' through the door 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 street, child of clay
Joey, Joey, what made them want to come an' blow [your head / 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 Brooklyn mourned
They said a mass in the old church near the house where he was born
And someday if god's in heaven, overlookin' his preserve
I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve.
Joey, Joey, king of the street, child of clay
Joey, Joey, what made them want to come an' blow [your head / you] away? 
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