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Balboa Park Tab

by Bruce Springsteen


Balboa Park - Bruce Springsteen  

(Capo 3rd fred)
                                                      
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He lay his blanket underneath the freeway 
                         
as the evening sky grew dark 
                                       
took a sniff of toncho from his coke can
                           
and headed through Balboa Park 
                         
where the men in Mercedes 
                     
come nightly to employ 
                            
in the cool San Diego evening 
                             |   |   |  |   
the services of the border boys 

                           
He grew up near the zona norte 
                                             
with the hustlers and smugglers he hung out with 
                                    
he swallowed their balloons of cocaine 
                                  
brought 'em cross the 12th street strip 
                   
sleeping in a shelter 
                      
if the night got too cold 
                     
runnin' from the migra 
                  |   |   |  |   
of the border patrol 

                                         
Past the Salvage yard 'cross the train tracks 
                           
and in through the storm drain 
                                                
they stretched their blankets out neath the freeway 
                      
and each one took a name 
                      
there was x-man and cochese 
                                    
little spider his sneakers covered in river mud 
                        
they come north to California 
                                  |   |   |  |  
end up with the poison in their blood 

                           
He did what he had to do for money 
                                        
sometimes he sent home what he could spare 
                              
the rest went to hi-top sneakers and toncho 
                              
and jeans like the gavatchos wear 
                                        
one night the border patrol swept 12th street 
                                   
a big car come fast down the boulevard 
                                   
spider stood caught in it's headlights 
                      
got hit and went down hard 
                                         
as the car sped away spider held his stomach 
                                       
limped to his blanket 'neath the underpass 
                                       
lie there tasting his own blood on his tongue 
            
closed his eyes and listened to the cars 
               |  | 
rushin by so fast 

       
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