I used to be so cool with my hat and beard
In my younger years way back
I was a big bad dude, respected and feared
In a big black Cadillac
T-shirt, jeans, and boots, black leather jacket
I was mistaken for some sixties punk
9mm Browning in my belt
CAR-15 in the trunk
Hanging around my staging ground
Outside the Seven Eleven store
Waiting for the action to start around town
In the hot summer nights there would always be more
Leaning against my Caddy, lighting up a cigarette
Taking it easy in the summer heat
The skin of the city covered in sweat
And her pulse, I’d never miss a beat
In those days, where I lived, there was trouble all the time
Like a plague that was never gonna stop
It was like organized disorganized crime
And people was too scared to call the cops
Some out-of-town gang had the place by the balls
And a lot of good folks felt the sting
Till one afternoon I got a phone call
He said Man, you gotta do your thing
Well, I hit the road and headed into town
But I didn’t see nothing till I got to Lake and Main
When I got there they was all lined up for the big showdown
Man, I had to use my guts and use my brain
I had to get in the first shot so I burst out shooting
Knocking ‘em down like bowling pins, two bullets each
I chased ‘em down the avenue, howling and hooting
And the cops got what was left of ‘em on the beach
Now those days are over and there’s peace on the shore
Everything’s cool now, the streets are tame
Hardly anyone remembers that gunfight now
Hardly anyone remembers my name
But somebody remembers ‘cause last night I got a call
And the voice said, There’s trouble going on downstate
The force we got against it is too damn small
We need you, man, to straighten up the place
But this time they gotta find another way to get the problem solved
‘Cause I’m getting too old for this kind of fun
I don’t know if I even want to get involved
I’m just a fading hero with a silent gun
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
Another song written during the time I was still in the IDF and envisioning my life ahead when returning to the Jersey Shore, this time under the influence of movies like Cobra and Streets of Fire, with their gratuitous, comic-book violence. I thought I would add it to my expanded Soul In Exile magnum opus, but thought better of it. So it remains an outtake. Never recorded or performed.