Performing under a**umed names
At the club where you first played
Your awkward charm now utterly gone
So utterly gone
Replaced with deep disengagement
As a defense against pain
It's misconstrued as a force
Developed to keep guest lists short
And we recall how you'd hate this:
Comparing tips with the waitress
Oh, I know, I know who
Keeps coming up with all these stupid rules
Local celebrities on a bigger stage
Local celebrities when they're tossed that way
We feel you owe us some token
For the contract you've broken
By not remaining wedded to themes
You explored in your teens
But time will leave art debased
And it will annihilate all traces
Of the unbridled rush that we'd get
From those manic early sets
From waving ironic lighters
To catching up on our nightmares
But I know, I know who
Keeps coming up with all these stupid rules
Local celebrities on a bigger stage
Local celebrities when they're tossed that way
The lighting alters its texture
And everyone's past is right there
And at the same time utterly gone
So utterly gone...