Sooner or later when the dawn was breaking
   The joint was jumping and the walls were shaking
   Joey sneaked in the backdoor way
   Pretending he was with the band, he never used to pay
   He was no great draw at pulling the chicks
   He used to lie against the wall like he was holding up the bricks
   And all the things that guy used to do to get his kicks
   He was a legand in his lifetime with the neighborhood kids
  
   They said "Joey did this" and "Joey did that"
   Oh that guy was crazy, what a crazy cat
   Then something strange would happen, there's trouble on the way
   And trouble only means one thing....
   Joey's on the street again.
  
   Joey grew older, older without a cause
   Got married, had some kids and had his brushes with the law
   Settled down and got a job, then said "I'm leaving" one day
   "I've gotta hang loose a while, take care while I'm away."
   People said they'd seen him, they were nearly always wrong
   'Cause no one knew how much he had, where he'd gone or for how long
   'Til one day there came a rumor, floating from the docks
   Saying a crazy stranger had been found lying among the rocks.
  
   The said "Joey was this" and "Joey was that"
   Oh that guy was crazy, what a crazy cat
   But no one quite believed it, all rumors are the same
   And now if something happens they say....
   Joey's on the street again.
  
   When Joey moved away
   A lot of the kids said "I can't stay around here"
   They said "I'm moving out, going away
   They said "I'm leaving, getting out
   "I'm gonna go somewhere where it doesn't stink
   Away from the alleys, somewhere I can think
   Wash the dirt from my hands, watch it wash down the sink
   It's a strain on the brain living close to the brink
  
   Look at the brickwall gravestone where some kid was sprayed
   Saying nobody could be bothered here to rule O.K.
   Don't believe it, don't believe it what they say on TV
   There's no romance, no romance
   For Joey in this city.