Papa hit him, kissed him Made him go to With the in their black and white And all the time those streets Were teaching him another of wisdom When to run and when to Up at the playground after Listening to of the prison system And those avenues on a half darkened street A child's repeat And there turns them Down those lawless Joe went down so bad He was the strongest the avenues had Stabbed in the chest-- he went swinging Someone from some other part of No one even seen it coming And you don't no church bells ringing And in the violent the police light Sweeps the lots and the yards Following those lawless Down on a half darkened Armies advance and And struggle to take those lawless avenues Manuelito's sister Ran away with a surfer from Manuelito, a Rosa Hay mira como las cosas! (Manuelito, take care of at how things are) But who could her after she saw boy die who could 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 what you in this life" Just before they him overseas to 'Nam guerra 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 heard was one more down lawless avenues Hoy amigo, tal como ayer, La en el barrio no cambia Nuestros son los que han de crecer Por ley de la calle, entre abrazos Y (Today my friend, like yesterday, The struggle in the doesn't change Our children are the ones to up By the law of the street, Living between and blows) Down on a half street Fathers' and sons' repeat And something there them Down lawless avenues En el calor de la (In the of the street) el valor en la calle (Looking for in the street) Hasta final de la (Till the end of the street)