In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Pedro lives out of the Wilshire Hotel
he looks out a window without glass
The walls are made of cardboard, newspapers on his feet
his father beats him 'cause he's too tired to beg
He's got 9 brothers and sisters
they're brought up on their knees
it's hard to run when a coat hanger beats you on the thighs
Pedro dreams of being older and killing the old man
but that's a slim chance he's going to the boulevard
He's going to end up, on the dirty boulevard
he's going out, to the dirty boulevard
He's going down, to the dirty boulevard
This room cost 2,000 dollars a month
you can believe it man it's true
somewhere a landlord's laughing till he wets his pants
No one here dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer or anything
they dream of dealing on the dirty boulevard
Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
that's what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard
Get to end up, on the dirty boulevard
going out, to the dirty boulevard
He's going down, on the dirty boulevard
going out
Outside it's a bright night
there's an opera at Lincoln Center
movie stars arrive by limousine
The klieg lights shoot up over the skyline of Manhattan
but the lights are out on the Mean Streets
A small kid stands by the Lincoln Tunnel
he's selling plastic roses for a buck
The traffic's backed up to 39th street
the TV whores are calling the cops out for a suck
And back at the Wilshire, Pedro sits there dreaming
he's found a book on magic in a garbage can
He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling
"At the count of 3" he says, "I hope I can disappear"
And fly fly away, from this dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly-fly-fly-fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly away
I want to fly
Fly, fly away
I want to fly
Fly-fly away (Fly a-)
fly-fly-fly (-way, ooohhh...)
Fly-fly away (I want to fly-fly away)
fly away (I want to fly, wow-woh, no, fly away)
he looks out a window without glass
The walls are made of cardboard, newspapers on his feet
his father beats him 'cause he's too tired to beg
He's got 9 brothers and sisters
they're brought up on their knees
it's hard to run when a coat hanger beats you on the thighs
Pedro dreams of being older and killing the old man
but that's a slim chance he's going to the boulevard
He's going to end up, on the dirty boulevard
he's going out, to the dirty boulevard
He's going down, to the dirty boulevard
This room cost 2,000 dollars a month
you can believe it man it's true
somewhere a landlord's laughing till he wets his pants
No one here dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer or anything
they dream of dealing on the dirty boulevard
Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
that's what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard
Get to end up, on the dirty boulevard
going out, to the dirty boulevard
He's going down, on the dirty boulevard
going out
Outside it's a bright night
there's an opera at Lincoln Center
movie stars arrive by limousine
The klieg lights shoot up over the skyline of Manhattan
but the lights are out on the Mean Streets
A small kid stands by the Lincoln Tunnel
he's selling plastic roses for a buck
The traffic's backed up to 39th street
the TV whores are calling the cops out for a suck
And back at the Wilshire, Pedro sits there dreaming
he's found a book on magic in a garbage can
He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling
"At the count of 3" he says, "I hope I can disappear"
And fly fly away, from this dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly-fly-fly-fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly away
I want to fly
Fly, fly away
I want to fly
Fly-fly away (Fly a-)
fly-fly-fly (-way, ooohhh...)
Fly-fly away (I want to fly-fly away)
fly away (I want to fly, wow-woh, no, fly away)
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This song is great, I especially love the 'fly fly away' parts at the end. That's something I've noticed Lou does a lot at the end of his songs-- he sort of puts in a different chorus which is really catchy and gets you singing hours afterwards.
Absolutely. It seems to come out of nowhere and is so sonically different from the rest of the song. Though it doesn't last long, this cry for hope ends the song so perfectly. It's almost a plea and vow to escape - to "fly away".
I think that it is describing the life of someone living in the slums, in the lowest of the low places, and in the end he talks about flying away, leaving forever. Getting out of there.
Social commentary with Lou's usual wonderfully cynical vision.
This is so like Lou's attempt at Americana Sing Along's like Bryan Adam's "Summer of 69", John Mellancamp's "Jack and Diane" and anything by Bruce Springsteen. The simple guitar intro and hooks, vivid story telling and vocal hook "Fly Away" is just like those 80's anthems but it's just so Lou.
The lines
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death And get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard
always remind me of
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son And he said yes I think it can be easily done Just take everything down to Highway 61.
from Bob Dylan's 'Highway 61', and I wonder whether it's intended to.
Fantastic song. I always thought that the "book of magic" that Pedro finds was a brilliant allegory for drug use. "At the count of 3, he says, I hope I can disappear and fly fly away, from this dirty boulevard." Every time I hear that verse, it hits me right in the gut.
For some reason, and I don't know why, the music (not necessarily the lyrics) is what I think of sometimes when I see sexy looking girls or sexual activity.
incredible song with incredible lyrics
I wonder if the "dirty blvd." is based on any street in particular or just the life of the lower classes in general. Anybody know the answer?
@Yeahbro25 <br /> I wonder this, too, which is how I found this site. Maybe in a lot of towns, if you say "dirty blvd.," everyone knows it, because there is a most infamous street, t not Manhattan. It is pretty rich, or middle class, all the way from Battery Parik up through Harlem, including Spanish Harlem. So maybe, Lou, in his imagination of a poverty-stricken neighborhood imagined upper Manhattan -- not that he had ever been there. Lots of hard-working people, with solid jobs.
this makes me think how hard life is for most of the people outthere,,while all of us here..posting comments of this song.