song for sonny liston



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 second-last king

never again was it the same 

in the ring



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



they never could be sure 

about the day he was born

a motherless child 

set to working on the farm

and they never could be sure 

about the day he died

the bear was the king 

they cast aside



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 



 



 



 



‘some day they're gonna write a 

blues for fighters. It'll just be for

slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell.'



sonny liston 1962