Papa hit him, kissed him Made him go to With the in their black and white And all the time city streets Were teaching him another of wisdom to run and when to fight Up at the after school Listening to tales of the system And those avenues on a half darkened street A child's repeat And something there them those lawless avenues Silent Joe went so bad He was the strongest fighter the had Stabbed in the chest-- he went down Someone from some other of town No one seen it coming down And you don't hear no bells ringing And in the night the police light Sweeps across the lots and the those lawless avenues Down on a darkened street Armies advance and And to take control From lawless avenues Manuelito's sister Ran away with a from Hermosa Manuelito, cuida a Hay mira estan las cosas! (Manuelito, take care of at how things are) But who blame her after she saw Every boy die who could have gotten to her Rosa es joven y quiere ver la belleza del (Rosa is young and wants to see the of the world) Manuel "You gotta fight for you want in this life" Just before they shipped him overseas to Otra guerra sin guerra sin fin, sin honor (Another war without Another war end, without honor) And she was to understand they shipped Manuelito's body home All she heard was one more Echoing down avenues Hoy amigo, tal como ayer, La lucha en el barrio no Nuestros son los que han de crecer Por ley de la calle, entre abrazos Y (Today my friend, like yesterday, The struggle in the barrio doesn't Our are the ones 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 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)