Knee-Jerk Reaction

Well, I rolled that store about an hour ago
For a hundred and a fifth of gin
Now I must confess to the depths
Of the mess that I'm in

Because the cops were waiting
When I ran outside
Saying, "Cool it now, drop the gun, son"
Call it the curse of the knee-jerk reaction

You see all of my life
I've had to hustle and fight
I was poor and small for my age
But my big bro Tom said it's easy to compensate

"You gotta get there fast
Before they even react
Now that's just the way it's done, son"
Call it the curse of the knee-jerk reaction

Wouldn't it be good
To be the king of the neighborhood?
To be the czar and the Gunga Din
Hey, that's how the story should end

Wouldn't it be fine
To be the one at the front of the line?
To be the star and the champion
Yeah, I'd like to do it over and over
And over and over again

It was a case of the bills
Unpaid that led me to a life of crime
I got so damn sick
Of always working for nickels and dimes

So I bought this piece off my cousin Maurice
He said, "Get in there, get out and run, son"
Call it the curse of the knee-jerk reaction

Wouldn't it be good
To be the king of the neighborhood?
To be the czar and the Gunga Din
Hey, that's how the story should end

Wouldn't it be fine
To be the one at the front of the line?
To be the star and the champion
Yeah, I'd like to do it over and over
And over and over again

Well, I rolled that store about an hour ago
Now I'm rotting in the holding pen
And I must confess to the depths
Of the mess that I'm in

When a queen named Lou asks what did I do
I said, "I looked out for number one, son"
Call it the curse of the knee-jerk reaction