On the streets of New York city   When the hour was getting late   There were young men armed with knives and guns   Young men armed with hate      And Lou Marsh stepped between them   And died there in his tracks   For one man is no army   When the city turns its back      And now the streets are empty   Now the streets are dark   So keep an eye on shadows   And never pass the park      For the city is a jungle   When the law is out of sight   And death lurks in El Barrio   With the orphans of the night      He left behind a chamber   Of a church he served so long   For he learned the prayers of distant men   Will never right the wrongs      His church became an alley   And his pulpit was the street   And he made his congregation   From the boys he used to meet      And now the streets are empty   Now the streets are dark   So keep an eye on shadows   And never pass the park      For the city is a jungle   When the law is out of sight   And death lurks in El Barrio   With the orphans of the night      There were two gangs approaching   In Spanish Harlem town   The smell of blood was in the air   The challenge was laid down      He felt their blinding hatred   And he tried to save their lives   And the answer that they gave him   Was their fists and feet and knives      And now the streets are empty   Now the streets are dark   So keep an eye on shadows   And never pass the park      For the city is a jungle   When the law is out of sight   And death lurks in El Barrio   With the orphans of the night      Will Lou Marsh lie forgotten   In his cold and silent grave?   Will his memory still linger on   In those he tried to save?      All of us who knew him   Will now and then recall   And shed a tear on poverty   Tombstone of us all      For now the streets are empty   Now the streets are dark   So keep an eye on shadows   And never pass the park      For the city is a jungle   When the law is out of sight   And death lurks in El Barrio   With the orphans of the night