Texas Street
He's alone, bandana-headed
down on Foreigner Street
with another whore to
starve his guilt away
his hand on a tit at the Vegas
dancing with fleet feet
at the London Club
the boys from the boats
the big Russians laughing
their hands on a thigh
pawing their way through the vodka night
the bar hostess from Seoul
who speaks good English
lives and dies on this street
knows how to charge you
just for a double of orange juice
how to suck money
out of your pocket one way or another
Tonight he'll sleep in a yogwan
in the rooms behind the Hollywood
next to the Cebu Island boys
who've been at sea too long
he'll fuck the big tit girl
or he'll drunkenly dream he held her
in his tattoo needle arms
dream she really liked him.
He'll empty his guts in the piss hole
pass out with the window open
sometime before daybreak
when the distant foghorn blows
down on Foreigner Street
with another whore to
starve his guilt away
his hand on a tit at the Vegas
dancing with fleet feet
at the London Club
the boys from the boats
the big Russians laughing
their hands on a thigh
pawing their way through the vodka night
the bar hostess from Seoul
who speaks good English
lives and dies on this street
knows how to charge you
just for a double of orange juice
how to suck money
out of your pocket one way or another
in the rooms behind the Hollywood
next to the Cebu Island boys
who've been at sea too long
he'll fuck the big tit girl
or he'll drunkenly dream he held her
in his tattoo needle arms
dream she really liked him.
He'll empty his guts in the piss hole
pass out with the window open
sometime before daybreak
when the distant foghorn blows
Only 2 blocks long, Cho Ryang, a block from the harbor and Busan train station, is anchored on 1 end by Chinatown. Because of the Chinese presence, the area was designated as the commercial and entertainment district for American soldiers, and businesses were set up there during the 1940s and 1950s to cater to them. The Americans, however, dubbed it Texas Street due to its reputation as a wild, frontier area where everything is legendarily bigger. In recent decades, due to the influx of Russian sailors, most of the signs in English have been replaced by Cyrillic ones. More recently, many shops and bars have also sprung up to cater to Chinese speaking tourists. Officially, however, it is labelled as "Commercial street for foreigners." During the day it is a shopping street but at night it transforms into a red light district. A yogwon is a cheap hotel.
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