so many mouths to feed on the farm

sonny was the second to the last one born

his mamma ran away and his daddy beat him bad

and he grew up wild good love he never had

he had a left like henry's hammer

a right like betty bamalam

rode with the muggers in the dark and dread

and all them sluggers went down like lead

well he hung with the hoods he wouldn't stroke the fans

but he had dynamite in both his hands

boom bam like the slammer door

the bell and the can and the bodies on the floor

beware the bear's in town

somebody's money says the bear's going down

yeah, the bear never smiles

sonny's going down for miles and miles

sonny's going down for miles and miles

the writers didn't like him the fight game jocks

with his lowlife backers and his hands like rocks

they didn't want to have a bogey man

they didn't like him and he didn't like them

black cadillac alligator boots

money in the pockets of his sharkskin suits

some say the bear took a flop

they couldn't believe it when they saw him drop

he had a left like henry's hammer

a right like betty bamalam

rode with the muggers in the dark and dread

and all them sluggers went down like lead

joe louis was his hero he tried to be the same

but a criminal child wears a ball and chain

so the civil rights people didn't want him on the throne

and the hacks and the cops wouldn't leave him alone

beware the bear's in town somebody's money says

the bear's going down

yeah, the bear never smiles

sonny's going down for miles and miles

sonny's going down for miles and miles

at the foot of his bed with his feet on the floor

there was dope in his veins and a pistol on the drawer

there was no investigation as such

he hated needles but he knew too much

criss-crossed on his back

scars from his daddy like slavery tracks

the second-last child was the