Desire

i married isis on the fifth day of may,
But i could not hold on to her very long.
So i cut off my hair and i rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where i could not go wrong.

I came to a high place of darkness and light.
The dividing line ran through the center of town.
I hitched up my pony to a post on the right,
Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down.

A man in the corner approached me for a match.
I knew right away he was not ordinary.
He said, "are you lookin' for somethin' easy to catch?"
I said, "i got no money." he said, "that ain't necessary."

We set out that night for the cold in the north.
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word.
I said, "where are we goin'?" he said we'd be back by the fourth.
I said, "that's the best news that i've ever heard."

I was thinkin' about turquoise, i was thinkin' about gold,
I was thinkin' about diamonds and the world's biggest necklace.
As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold,
I was thinkin' about isis, how she thought i was so reckless.

How she told me that one day we would meet up again,
And things would be different the next time we wed,
If i only could hang on and just be her friend.
I still can't remember all the best things she said.

We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice.
He said, "there's a body i'm tryin' to find.
If i carry it out it'll bring a good price."
'twas then that i knew what he had on his mind.

The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous.
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn.
When he died i was hopin' that it wasn't contagious,
But i made up my mind that i had to go on.

I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty.
There was no jewels, no nothin', i felt i'd been had.
When i saw that my partner was just bein' friendly,
When i took up his offer i must-a been mad.

I picked up his body and i dragged him inside,
Threw him down in the hole and i put back the cover.
I said a quick prayer and i felt satisfied.
Then i rode back to find isis just to tell her i love her.

She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise.
Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed,
I came in from the east with the sun in my eyes.
I cursed her one time then i rode on ahead.

She said, "where ya been?" i said, "no place special."
She said, "you look different." i said, "well, i guess."
She said, "you been gone." i said, "that's only natural."
She said, "you gonna stay." i said, "if you want me to, yes."

Isis, oh, isis, you mystical child.
What drives me to you is what drives me insane.
I still can remember the way that you smiled
On the fifth day of may in the drizzlin' rain.

Oh, sister, when i come to lie in your arms
You should not treat me like a stranger.
Our father would not like the way that you act
And you must realize the danger.

Oh, sister, am i not a brother to you
And one deserving of affection?
And is our purpose not the same on this earth,
To love and follow
His direction?

We grew up together
From the cradle to the grave
We died and were reborn
And then mysteriously saved.

Oh, sister, when i come to knock on your door,
Don't turn away, you'll create sorrow.
Time is an ocean but it ends at the shore
You may not see me tomorrow.

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 hit the roof.
He went out that night to seek revenge, thinkin' he was bulletproof.

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.

When 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,
Why did they have 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?

Up on the white veranda
She wears a necktie and a panama hat.
Her passport shows a face
From another time and place
She looks nothin' like that.
And all the remnants of her recent past
Are scattered in the wild wind.
She walks across the marble floor
Where a voice from the gambling room is callin' her to come on in.
She smiles, walks the other way
As the last ship sails and the moon fades away
From black diamond bay.

As the mornin' light breaks open, the greek comes down
And he asks for a rope and a pen that will write.
"pardon, monsieur," the desk clerk says,
Carefully removes his fez,
"am i hearin' you right?"
And as the yellow fog is liftin'
The greek is quickly headin' for the second floor.
She passes him on the spiral staircase
Thinkin' he's the soviet ambassador,
She starts to speak, but he walks away
As the storm clouds rise and the palm branches sway
On black diamond bay.

A soldier sits beneath the fan
Doin' business with a tiny man who sells him a ring.
Lightning strikes, the lights blow out.
The desk clerk wakes and begins to shout,
"can you see anything?"
Then the greek appears on the second floor
In his bare feet with a rope around his neck,
While a loser in the gambling room lights up a candle,
Says, "open up another deck."
But the dealer says, "attendez-vous, s'il vous plait,''
As the rain beats down and the cranes fly away
From black diamond bay.

The desk clerk heard the woman laugh
As he looked around the aftermath and the soldier got tough.
He tried to grab the woman's hand,
Said, "here's a ring, it cost a grand."
She said, "that ain't enough."
Then she ran upstairs to pack her bags
While a horse-drawn taxi waited at the curb.
She passed the door that the greek had locked,
Where a handwritten sign read, "do not disturb."
She knocked upon it anyway
As the sun went down and the music did play
On black diamond bay.

"i've got to talk to someone quick!"
But the greek said, "go away," and he kicked the chair to the floor.
He hung there from the chandelier.
She cried, "help, there's danger near
Please open up the door!"
Then the volcano erupted
And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above.
The soldier and the tiny man were crouched in the corner
Thinking of forbidden love.
But the desk clerk said, "it happens every day,"
As the stars fell down and the fields burned away
On black diamond bay.

As the island slowly sank
The loser finally broke the bank in the gambling room.
The dealer said, "it's too late now.
You can take your money, but i don't know how
You'll spend it in the tomb."
The tiny man bit the soldier's ear
As the floor caved in and the boiler in the basement blew,
While she's out on the balcony, where a stranger tells her,
"my darling, je vous aime beaucoup."
She sheds a tear and then begins to pray
As the fire burns on and the smoke drifts away
From black diamond bay.

I was sittin' home alone one night in l.a.,
Watchin' old cronkite on the seven o'clock news.
It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothin' but a panama hat
And a pair of old greek shoes.
Didn't seem like much was happenin',
So i turned it off and went to grab another beer.
Seems like every time you turn around
There's another hard-luck story that you're gonna hear
And there's really nothin' anyone can say
And i never did plan to go anyway
To black diamond bay.