By the bus stop on the boardwalk by the sand   He stands there with his guitar in his hand   And every emotion you can feel   He just pulls from his box of wood and steel      But late in the evening the music will lose its charm   And with shaking hands he'll tighten the belt around his arm      And he's gonna get high for a moment   He's gonna get by for a moment   He's gonna be fine for a while   With a half unconscious smile   Where the city and the ocean come to meet   Down on Rose Street      The tourist and the locals gather 'round   And he plays while they throw their quarters down   And God himself would be happy as hell   If he could play maybe half as well      But it's cold in the nighttime when you ain't got a room   So he takes his comfort from a lighter and a spoon      Now it's quiet on the boardwalk by the sand   And I pause in the place he used to stand   But when I close my eyes I hear the music even more   In the rhythm of the waves against the shore      And it makes me high for a moment   And I'm gonna get by for a moment   I'm gonna be fine for a while   As the memory makes me smile   Where the city and the ocean come to meet   Down on Rose Street