On the grand boulevard Arlene has a baby
And his tiny brown body cannot live on its own
In a hospital crib he lays in the balance
Arlene is discharged and she walks home all alone

The weeks pass like years and the winter comes early
Arlene tries to work but the streets are like death
She sleeps without dreams in a one room apartment
Where she wakes to her hunger and sigh of her breath

In the churches that sing let's love one another
Where charity covers the sins of our hearts
But out on the sidewalk the truth never changes, no, no
And the children go hungry on the Grand Boulevard

In the hospital office Arlene holds her baby
She's twice now a mother though never a wife
They hand her a bill for a son strong and healthy
And it's simply more money than she'll see in her life

At home with a child there's no milk for his bottle
There's no crib for a bed just a chair cold and hard
The hospital bills will be paid by the county
But help us run out on the grand boulevard

In the churches that sing let's love one another
For charity covers the sins of our hearts
But out on the sidewalk the truth never changes, no, no
And the children go hungry on the Grand Boulevard

Now she stands in the warm rain and washes white stones
As lights from the church fall from this small yard
And she tries to believe as she bends with the flower
There's a far better place than the grand boulevard

In the churches that sing let's love one another
For charity covers the sins of our hearts
But out on the sidewalk the truth never changes, no, no
And the children go hungry on the Grand Boulevard

And the children go hungry on the Grand Boulevard
Yes, the children dying on the Grand Boulevard