The Devil’s Boulevard
All the shops have bargain sales, or else are closing down
In this road that’s never been the best part of the town
Now the slates are coming off, the bricks are old and scarred
The buildings need some TLC on the devil’s boulevard.
Fast food joints and burger bars spit neon through the night
The cooking and the garbage smells are there in every bite
With every breath you take the air is redolent with lard
From the dazzle of hell’s kitchens on the devil’s boulevard.
Young boys hang on the corners, hidden in their hoods
Folding money changes hands as they pass across the goods
Their turf is well protected by their look-outs and their guards
This is where the deals go down, the devil’s boulevard.
The graffiti kings patrol the alleys and sort their aerosols,
Their goal to leave their rainbow mark on each and every wall
In another place their art might well be held in some regard
But there is no place for artistry on the devil’s boulevard.
When the lights go on each night, the girls come out for trade
The work is hard and all because there’s a man who must be paid
And many’s the girl who’s ended up in the splinters and the shards
Of broken glass and broken dreams on the devil’s boulevard.
And I, meanwhile, dressed for the part, unshaven and falsly lame
Observe each changing day while it all remains the same
Down here it’s never easy, and life is always hard
For those who choose to live their lives on the devils boulevard
Those who the local citizens hold in disregard
Who from polite society find that they are barred
Assumed to be of ill-repute and alright to discard
The ones we force to live their lives on the devil’s boulevard.
© Jeffrey James Culling & Giuseppe Valdo Conte
Vocals Jeff
All Instruments Joe
Lead Guitar Lea Rogers