Boulevard Lyrics
This song is amazing. It's upbeat and it just makes you want to sing along, whilst being a smart, thought-provoking song. I love it.
I read/heard somewhere that it's about the darker side of life on Hollywood Blvd. Prostitution, drugs and survival that harden the heart and break the spirit robbing a person of happiness.
Down on the boulevard they take it hard They look at life with such disregard They say it can't be won The way the game is run But if you choose to stay You end up playing anyway
This could sum up the vicious cycle. How can you respect life when the hand dealt gives you nothing. Opportunity is for the rich. Death is the only way out so everyone living is forced to play the game with unfair rules.
Nobody rides for free Nobody gets it like they want it to be Nobody hands you any guarantee
Nobody knows you Nobody owes you nothin Nobody shows you what they're thinking
You got to watch the street, keep your feet And be on guard
This is the attitude needed for this way of life. A cold hard approach which is good advice for survival.
Always loved this song, and frankly, the entire Hold Out album is very underrated. Only 7 songs, some long ones. I’ve seen less-than-glowing reviews, maybe because it came after Running On Empty, which is arguably his best album (along with Late afor The Sky), and the song ROE Ive heard many say is the best song he ever wrote, but was certainly a huge, popular mainstream album. Hold Out is very different, but that’s not a bad thing as long as it’s good. I’m not sure there are more than a couple writers who are Browne’s equal, not when you combine his lyrics with his melodic sense. Many seem to write him off as just another empty, SoCal Mellow-Mafia member, but that’s to their detriment. Boulevard is one of his best singles.