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