Once upon a time not long ago
When people wore pajamas and lived life slow
When laws were stern and justice stood
And people were behavin' like they ought ta good

There lived a lil' boy who was misled
By another little boy and this is what he said
'Me and you tonight are gonna make some cash
Robbin' old folks and makin' tha dash'

They did the job, money came with ease
But one couldn't stop, it's like he had a disease
He robbed another and another and a sista and her brotha
Tried to rob a man who was a D.T. undercover

The cop grabbed his arm, he started acting erratic
He said, 'Keep still, boy, no need for static'
Punched him in his belly and he gave him a slap
But little did he know the little boy was strapped

The kid pulled out a gun, he said, 'Why ya hit me?'
The barrel was set straight for the cop's kidney
The cop got scared, the kid he starts to figure
I'll do years if I pull this trigger

So he cold dashed and ran around the block
Cop radio's it to another lady cop
He ran by a tree, there he saw this sister
A shot for the head, he shot back but he missed her

Looked around good and from expectations
So he decided he'd head for the subway stations
But she was coming and he made a left
He was runnin' top speed till he was outta breath

Knocked an old man down and swore he killed him
Then he made his move to an abandoned building
Ran up the stairs up to the top floor
Opened up the door there, guess who he saw

Dave the dope fiend shootin' dope
Who don't know the meaning of water nor soap
He said, 'I need bullets, hurry up, run'
The dope fiend brought back a spanking shotgun

He went outside but there was cops all over
Then he dipped into a car, a stolen Nova
Raced up the block doing 83
Crashed into a tree near a university

Escaped alive though the car was battered
Rat-a-tat-tatted and all the cops scattered
Ran out of bullets and still had static
Grabbed a pregnant lady, got out the automatic
Pointed at her head and he said the gun was full o' lead

He told the cops, 'Back off or honey here's dead'
Deep in his heart he knew he was wrong
So he let the lady go and he starts to run on
Sirens sounded, he seemed astounded

Before long the little boy got surrounded
He dropped the gun, so went the glory
And this is the way I must end this story
He was only seventeen, in a madman's dream

The cops shot the kid, I still hear him scream
This ain't funny so don't ya dare laugh
Just another case 'bout the wrong path
Straight and narrow or your soul gets cashed