Stars, they come and go, they come fast, they come slow They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze And all you see is glory Hey but it gets lonely there when there's no one there to share We can shake it away, if you'll hear a story People lust for fame like athletes in a game They break their collarbones and come up swinging Some of them are crowned Some of them are downed, and some are lost and never found But most have seen it all They live their lives in sad cafés and music halls And they always have a story Some make it when they're young Before the world has done its dirty job And later on someone will say "You've had your day, now you must make way" (Don't they always?) But you'll never know the pain of using a name you never owned Years of forgetting what you know too well That you who gave the crown have been let down You try to make amends without defending Perhaps pretending you never saw the eyes of young men at twenty-five
That followed as you walk and asked for autographs Or kissed you on the cheek and you never can believe they really loved you Some make it when they're old Perhaps they have a soul they aren't afraid to bare Perhaps there's nothing there But anyway that isn't what I meant to say, I meant to tell about a story Because we all have stories I can't remember it anyway So I'll tell about the mood that's in the United States today And permeating even Switzerland It goes But I continue away until I get it together Some women have a body men will want to see And so they put it on display Some people play a fine guitar, I could listen to them play all day But anyway, I'm trying to tell my story Janis Ian told it very well Janis Joplin told it even better Billie Holiday even told it even better We always, we always, we always have a story The latest story that I know is the one that I'm supposed to go out with (x5)