Venice beach is poppin' like live shrimp dropped on a hot walk Hucksters, hustlers and hawkers set up their boardwalk shops Home for all the homeless, hopeless well-heeled and deranged Still nothin' here seems out of place or strange There's an old smudge of a beatnik by the bay Lookin' like a dog who's had his day like a dream he drifts away He likes to go out on the pier to hear the reedy carousel It's got a melody that sets you free and says Let's set a spell just to hear the heartbeat in LA