You Don't Mess Around With Jim Jim Croce
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Uptown got it's hustlers The bowery got it's bums
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42nd Street got Big Jim Walker He's a pool-shooting son of a gun
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He big and dumb as a man can come
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But he stronger than a country hoss
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And when the bad folks all get together at night
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You know they all call big Jim "Boss", just because And they say
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You don't tug on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind
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You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
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And you don't mess around with Jim
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Well outta south Alabama came a country boy
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He say I'm looking for a man named Jim
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I am a pool-shooting boy My name Willie McCoy
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But down home they call me Slim
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Yeah I'm looking for the king of 42nd Street
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He driving a drop top Cadillac
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Last week he took all my money And it may sound funny
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But I come to get my money back
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And everybody say Jack don't you know
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You don't tug on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind
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You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
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And you don't mess around with Jim
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Well a hush fell over the pool room Jimmy come bopping in off the street
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And when the cutting were done The only part that wasn't bloody
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Was the soles of the big man's feet Yeah he were cut in bout a hundred places
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And he were shot in a couple more
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And you better believe They sung a different kind of story
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When big Jim hit the floor, now they say
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You don't tug on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind
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You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
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And you don't mess around with Slim
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Yeah, big Jim got his hat Find out where it's at
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And it's not hustling people strange to you
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Even if you do got a two-piece custom-made pool cue
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You don't tug on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind
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You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
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And you don't mess around with Slim fade to out