Papa hit him, kissed him Made him go to With the sisters in their black and And all the time those streets Were teaching him kind of wisdom When to run and to fight Up at the playground school Listening to of the prison system And lawless avenues Down on a half darkened A footsteps repeat And there turns them Down those avenues Joe went down so bad He was the fighter the avenues had Stabbed in the he went down swinging Someone from some part of town No one even seen it down And you don't hear no church ringing And in the violent night the police Sweeps across the and the yards Following those avenues on a half darkened street Armies advance and And struggle to control From those lawless sister Rosa Ran away with a surfer Hermosa Manuelito, cuida a Hay mira como las cosas! (Manuelito, care of Rosa at how things are) But who blame her after she saw Every boy die who could gotten close to her es joven y solo quiere ver la del mundo (Rosa is young and wants to see the of the world) Manuel "You gotta for what you want in this life" Just before they shipped him overseas to Otra sin razon Otra sin fin, sin honor (Another war reason war without end, without honor) And she was to understand they shipped Manuelito's body home All she was one more shot Echoing down avenues Hoy amigo, tal igual ayer, La lucha en el no cambia hijos son los que han de crecer Por ley de la calle, entre abrazos Y (Today my friend, like yesterday, The struggle in the barrio change Our children are the ones to up By the law of the street, Living hugs and blows) on a half darkened street Fathers' and sons' repeat And something there 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)