Papa hit him, Mama him Made him go to With the in their black and white And all the time those streets Were teaching him another kind of When to run and to fight Up at the playground after to tales of the prison system And those lawless Down on a half street A child's repeat And something turns them those lawless avenues Silent Joe went so bad He was the strongest the avenues had in the chest-- he went down swinging Someone from other part of town No one even seen it coming And you don't hear no church bells And in the violent night the police Sweeps across the and the yards Following those lawless on a half darkened street Armies advance and And struggle to control From those lawless Manuelito's sister Ran with a surfer from Hermosa Manuelito, a Rosa Hay mira como las cosas! (Manuelito, care of Rosa Look at how are) But who could blame her she saw boy die who could have gotten close to her Rosa es y solo quiere ver la belleza del (Rosa is and only wants to see the of the world) said-- "You gotta for what you want in this life" Just before they shipped him to 'Nam Otra sin razon Otra guerra sin fin, sin (Another war reason war without end, without honor) And she was fighting to When they Manuelito's body home All she was one more shot down lawless avenues Hoy amigo, tal como ayer, La lucha en el barrio no hijos son los que han de crecer Por ley de la calle, entre abrazos Y (Today my friend, just yesterday, The struggle in the barrio change Our are the ones to grow up By the law of the street, between hugs and blows) Down on a darkened street Fathers' and sons' repeat And something there them Down those avenues En el de la calle (In the of the street) Buscan el valor en la (Looking for in the street) Hasta de la calle (Till the end of the street)