Papa hit him, kissed him him go to Catechism With the sisters in black and white And all the time those city Were teaching him kind of wisdom When to run and when to Up at the playground after Listening to tales of the system And those avenues Down on a half darkened A child's footsteps And there turns them Down lawless avenues Silent Joe down so bad He was the fighter the avenues had Stabbed in the chest-- he down swinging Someone some other part of town No one even it coming down And you don't hear no church ringing And in the violent night the police Sweeps the lots and the yards Following lawless avenues Down on a half darkened advance and retreat And struggle to control From those avenues Manuelito's Rosa Ran with a surfer from Hermosa Manuelito, a Rosa Hay mira estan las cosas! (Manuelito, take care of at how things are) But who could her after she saw Every boy die who have gotten close to her Rosa es joven y quiere ver la del mundo (Rosa is and only wants to see the of the world) said-- "You gotta fight for you want in this life" Just before they shipped him overseas to Otra guerra sin Otra guerra sin fin, sin (Another war without war without end, without honor) And she was to understand When shipped Manuelito's body home All she heard was one more Echoing lawless avenues Hoy amigo, tal como ayer, La lucha en el barrio no Nuestros son los que han de crecer Por ley de la calle, viviendo abrazos Y (Today my friend, like yesterday, The in the barrio doesn't change Our children are the to grow up By the law of the street, between hugs and blows) Down on a darkened street and sons' lives repeat And there turns them Down those lawless En el calor de la (In the of the street) Buscan el valor en la (Looking for in the street) Hasta final de la (Till the end of the street)