The Levee Boys
From the tracks down to the river,
that’s the stomping ground for the Levee Boys.
Armed with slingshots and transistors,
we ran our turf with reckless joy.
Me and Jim we were the oldest,
we were strong as we were fast.
In the salt cedar bosky we built a fortress,
where the boys would meet and plan their next attack.
We never hurt nobody,
Broke some windows, bent some laws.
Barefoot warriors, slingshots hanging from our tattered overalls,
“All for one and one for all!”
I never will forget that fateful summer,
that couple from Albuquerque moved next door.
They yelled a lot and used a lot of cuss words,
while their long-faced kids sat out on the porch.
Well, that curly-headed boy, he was something…
two left feet, big mouth, and a busted tooth.
He followed us around ’til we relented,
we were the Levee Boys, “Defenders of the Youth!”
We never hurt nobody,
‘cept rattlesnakes and vermin, that was our pledge.
How were we to know we were growing up through this experience?
We were just kids.
One Friday we was pitching rocks along the ditch bank,
when Curly showed up all bruises, blood and tears.
Jim said, “Men, our mission here is apparent…
no parent has the right to rob us of these years.”
So we took the kid to our fort out in the bosky,
stocked him up with white bread and pork and beans.
His Dad knew that we knew, but we weren’t talking,
Jim said, “That bastard better never lay a hand on me.”
By Sunday night the law came asking questions
and we was raised to always tell the truth.
Me and Jim led the cops down to the levee,
to that curly-headed kid with the busted tooth.
You see, the law didn’t take to the problem lightly
and things got strangely quiet in the neighborhood.
That family moved away under the cover of the night,
I still don’t know if what we did, did any good.
I still don’t know if what we did, did any good.
We never hurt nobody,
‘cept rattlesnakes and vermin, that was our pledge.
How were we to know that we’d grow up with all these lessons that we’d lived?
We were just kids.
Across the tracks down to the river,
we ran our turf with reckless joy.
In the spirit of Huckleberry and Jim Hawkins,
“Once upon a Time”, (the Levee Boys).
“Defenders of our Youth”, (the Levee Boys).
© Kevin Higgins