Hey Joe, tell me why do you carry a gun around town?
I said, hey Joe, why do you carry a blue steel 44?
What are you up to?
Well, I'm on my way home
And home is not a safe place anymore
It hasn't been for a long time
The blows are coming hard and every day now
I'm going down fast but I plan to last

Hey Joe, I heard you shot your fella down
Put him in the ground
Hey Joe, I heard you really did shoot that man
Straight through the heart, wow
Yes I did, I shot him
He's been taking it out on me long enough now
I put a hole in his heart so I can breathe
And live to see another day

Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
I said where you gonna go?
Hey Joe, where can you possibly run to now?
The law's bound to catch up
Well, I'm not going anywhere,
You know I'm free now, no matter what
The law can't hurt me now
Ain't no one gonna stop me from breathing, no sir
Yes I did, I put a gun to the man's heart
There was no other way
Hey I'm okay
'Cause I'm free now, free

Anyone can see, it was a simple case
A simple case: him or me
Can't you see, can't you see that's what it was
Yes, I did, I shot him down to the ground
And I'm free now, yeah, down to the ground
Can't you see, I'm free now, free
No one's gonna stop me from breathing
I wanna live, I wanna breathe, I wanna see another day
I'm okay