Happy Ending for the Devil

Words and music © 1992 by Joe Monzo


Back around 1988 or so, there was a drive-by drug-related shooting in South Philadelphia in which an 8-year-old boy got hit. He lived, but will be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.

I was infuriated by this, and four years later I was still so angry that all of a sudden one day this song came to me.

Download the MIDI-file



        (intro guitar solo)

        This is a story with a happy ending for the devil
        but it's a tragedy for a little boy
        who was playin' at his grandma's house
        Until some asshole drove by and shot him


        But he was aiming at somebody else
        in the drug wars
        'cause maybe he wanted a piece of a street corner
        or maybe he got burned on a shipment
        or by a customer
        but none of that matters now

        'Cause there's a little boy
        who was playin' at his grandma's house
        Until some asshole drove by and shot him

        This is a story with a happy ending for the devil


        And you might wonder why that little boy's a hero
        'cause he really didn't do anything
        but he'll always be able to remember
        what it used to feel like to walk
        and that's all walking can ever be to him now
        is a memory

        And it was a happy ending for the devil
        but it's a tragedy for a little boy
        who was playin' at his grandma's house
        Until some asshole drove by and shot him

        Oh, it was a happy ending for the devil
        but it's a tragedy for a little boy
        who was playin' at his grandma's house
        Until some asshole drove by and shot him

        Oh, it was a happy ending for the devil
        it was a happy ending for the devil
        it was a happy ending for the devil
        it was a happy ending for the devil


  • If you have an opinion about this song or you'd like to record it, let me know.

  • If you like stuff that's more intellectual, I've written a book.


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