You Don't Mess Around With Jim

(album: Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce - 1980)

Well now uptown got its hustlers the bowery's done got its bums
42nd Street got big Jim Walker he's a pool shooting son of a gun
Yeah he's big and he's dumb as any man can come but he's stronger than a country horse
And when the bad folks all get together at night you know they all call big Jim Boss
Just because

And they say you don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim

Well outta south Alabama come a country boy he said I'm looking for a man named Jim
I'm a pool shooting boy my name is Willy McCoy but down home they call me Slim
Yeah I'm looking for the King of 42nd Street he drive a drop top Cadillac
Last week he took my money and it may sound funny but I come to get my money back

And everybody said hey Jack don't you know that
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull that mask off the ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim

Well a hush fell over that pool room Jimmy come bopping in off the street
And when the cutting was done the only part that wasn't bloody was the soles on the big man's feet
He was cut in about a hundred places and he was shot in a couple more
And you better believe they sung a different kind of story when big Jim hit the floor
And now they say

You don't tug on Superman's cape
And you don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim

Yeah you got it brother that big Jim he done got what left of his hat
And put it on what's left of his head and he hit the street

You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim

Not if you got a lick of sense you don't
You see what that little skinny fellow did to Jim
He beat his brains out I mean mostly outta his head
Say where'd Jim go anyway
Ah Jim left and went and got in his drop top Cadillac
Shoot Skinny done dunked his mop