Story Behind The Song
It's not stated explicitly, but the the song is meant to be a description of how a parent will infuse his or her prejudices onto a child. I imagined a father driving his son around different places of a city (this street), filling him in with clues to the way the "real world" is, really just a mix of his own liberal/cynical prejudices.
Song Description
"This Street" is fast-paced straight-ahead rock/pop, its energy counterpointing the darkness and cynicism of the lyrics. The song describes driving around parts of a city, with the driver talking to a passenger (father-son?) pointing out, in snide aphorisms, the kind of people that "ive there. Music features guitars, piano, drums bass, male lead vocal, female and male backup vocals. Some recording room non-sequiturs lead off the song. E-B-A# minor-A verses and C-G-D choruses.
| Song Length |
4:27 |
Genre |
Pop - Rock, Rock - Roots/Rock n' Roll |
| Tempo |
Medium Fast (131 - 150) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Restless, Anxious |
Subject |
Judgement, Boys, Men |
| Similar Artists |
Warren Zevon, Fleetwood Mac |
Language |
English |
| Era |
2000 and later |
| |
Lyrics
And we dri-i-ive (3 times) ...
("woh-o-o-o-o-oh")
This street is in the center of town
Staring everybody else down,
This street takes all that it can get
And loses it on a bet,
This street has all the best schools
You can tell that by the pools,
This street is where no one survives
Newspapers tally their lives.
And we dri-i-ive (3 times) ...
("woh-o-o-o-o-oh," or "It came from the South," or "Big balls in my mouth")
This street is gonna get in your way
Don't come here on payday,
This street is a customized killer
Stay tuned it's a thriller,
This street gives it's money to causes,
Star-power Santa Clauses,
This street is where you and I can't go,
Look all you want, though.
And we dri-i-ive (3 times) ...
("woh-o-o-o-o-oh," or "It came from the South," or "Big balls in my mouth")
This street says its prayers and night, but
It don't say 'em right,
This street's got something to sell,
Ringing everybody's doorbell,
On this street God's in every child
At 13 they all go wild,
This street is just the way out of town
Maybe we'll just stick around.
And we dri-i-ive (3 times) ...
("woh-o-o-o-o-oh," or "It came from the South" or "Big balls in my mouth")
This street ...
This street ...
And this street .... (repeat and fade)