Johnny ran a parlor down Flamingo Road
About a half mile down from the strip
My sister loved Johnny and I never knew why
I guess she figured he’d be a father to their kids
Well Johnny was a crazy one that’s for sure
Always hanging around the dealers and the clowns
And I told myself if my sister ever got hurt
That I would be there with a bat to bring ‘ol Johnny down
Johnny used to gamble and he had a big debt
It was due on the fourteenth of May
When the date came and went the mob sent in some men
And in the Flamingo Road parlor eight dead bodies lay
The mob kidnapped my sister at the grocery store
‘Cause they knew that she was Johnny’s wife
And the boss called Johnny up and said “Now let’s make a deal
You either come up with the money or we take her sweet life”
Well I guess you could call Johnny a lot of bad things
But he still had the guts to go down there that day
And they let my sister go but they shot Johnny dead
I guess I’ll never think of him in quite the same way
It just goes to show you how we judge someone
Before we really know what they’re like inside
Not everyone has a face that’s so easily read
And more often than not it’s the good things we hide
credits
from The Great Divide,
released March 2, 1994
Duane Larson - Minister of Attitude
Rowan Bishop - The Sound and the Fury
Jason Byrne - Guinness "Jazzy" McGillicuddy
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