Escrita por Bob Dylan e Jacques Levy, foi gravada em 30 de julho de 1975 e em 11 de agosto de 1975, nos estúdios da Columbia, em New York City. Foi produzida por Don DeVito. Foi lançada em 5 de janeiro de 1976 no disco Desire. Fala da vida e da morte do famoso mafioso americano Joey Gallo, que foi assassinado no dia do seu aniversário, na Umberto's Clam House, em Little Italy, em 7 de abril de 1972. Vitor Ramil fez uma versão em Português, chamada Joquim, pro seu disco Tango, de 1987.
A letra:
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 and runnin' numbers too
It always
seemed they got caught between the mob and the men in blue
Joey, Joey
King of the streets,
child of clay
Joey, Joey
What made them want to come and blow
you away
There was talk they killed their
rivals, but the truth was far from that
No one ever knew for sure
where they were really at
When they tried to strangle Larry, Joey
almost got hit the roof
He went out that night to seek revenge,
thinkin' he was bulletproof
Then, the war broke out at the break of
dawn, it emptied out the streets
Joey and his brothers suffered
terrible defeats
Till they ventured out behind the lines and took
five prisoners
They stashed them away in a basement, called them
amateurs
The hostages were tremblin' when they
heard a man exclaim
Let's blow this place to kingdom come, let Con
Edison take the blame
But Joey stepped up, he raised his hand,
said, we're not those kind of men
It's peace and quiet that we
need to go back to work again
Joey, Joey
King of the streets,
child of clay
Joey, Joey
What made them want to come and blow
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, the judge says, that's exactly what
you get
He did ten years in Attica, reading
Nietzsche and Wilhelm Reich
They threw him in the hole one time
for tryin' to stop a strike
His closest friends were black men
'cause they seemed 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 and I swear he did
look great
He tried to find the way back into the life he left
behind
To the boss he said, I have returned and now I want what's
mine
Joey, Joey
King of the streets,
child of clay
Joey, Joey
What made them want to come and blow
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 lifelong deadly foe
Emptied out the register, said, tell 'em
it was Crazy Joe
One day 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 streets,
child of clay
Joey, Joey
What made them want to come and blow
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 streets,
child of clay
Joey, Joey
What made them want to come and blow
you away
A versão de Bob Dylan:
A versão de Vitor Ramil. Joquim:
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