Tiny sand dunes In the midday sun Tattooed young Dominicans A gentle breeze from New York City Salt and diesel fumes And life seemed not so out of reach That day on Rockaway Beach She seemed so serious And so debonnaire Salt water dryin' in her hair Her eyes closed tight against the glare Life's hard at 23 But life seemed not so out of reach That day on Rockaway Beach Candy wrappers In the sand Old men strollin' down the strand Airplanes off to distant lands Full of hopes and dreams And life seemed not so out of reach That day on Rockaway Beach