Other Side of Town

Johnny lives on the other side of town Greasy windows greasy fingers sliding down Factory city empty buildings in a row Strong silent type with no place to go Johnny hangs out in a pool hall on Main Rack them balls up five dollars a game Eyes glued to them pockets watch that cue ball fall If you ain't here by midnight you ain't no place at all And Mama said don't hang 'round there Mama said don't hang 'round there When you hear the voices call Don't listen to the sound And don't hang out on the other side of town Johnny don't like football games Don't sit still for people calling him names He should still be in high school but he says he's twenty-one Knows the hiss of the switchblade and the roar of a gun All the girls love his pretty blue eyes They don't care when he tells them lies Can't hold a tune or play guitar or whisper soft and low Got no redeeming qualities got nowhere to go And Mama said don't hang 'round there Mama said don't hang 'round there When you hear the voices call Don't listen to the sound And don't hang out on the other side of town Johnny likes them fancy cars And Johnny likes playing pinball in bars If you hang him on a ledge he'll pull himself up by the heels He's a 454 in a car without wheels Johnny don't know how to read or write Johnny just want to stay out all night He's an all-American specimen so listen when I say Don't give him your prayers he don't want'em anyway And Mama said don't hang 'round there Mama said don't hang 'round there When you hear the voices call Don't listen to the sound And don't hang out on the other side of town