The Ramones - 53rd & 3rd - Lyrics Meaning

``53rd and 3rd'' was released in 1976 as The Ramones' second single, after the tremendously popular ``Blitzkrieg Bop. ``53rd and 3rd'' takes its name from the intersection of 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue in New York City. The location was infamous for being a site of male prostitution in Manhattan, and legend has it that Dee Dee Ramone himself, bassist and primary lyricist and songwriter of The Ramones, worked as a hustler there in order to pay for the heroin habit he wrote about in ``Chinese Rock.'' He refuses to discuss the matter, fueling speculation that the track is, in fact, autobiographical. In the film ``End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones,'' other members the band seem to insinuate that the story is indeed true. At the end of the song the protagonist of ``53rd and 3rd,'' who bemoans the fact that he's ``the one they never pick,'' is finally chosen by a customer but kills the man with a razor blade. He is chased by the police, but is pleased that he has ``proved that [he's] no sissy.'' Shortly after the song was completed, the site was demolished for the construction of the Citigroup Center, a famous Manhattan skyscraper.