[Verse 1]
He could have been so great, he could have had it all
He had it on a plate, but he threw it at the wall
And he can't know why, but he still said "yes"
To the easy lie and the poisoned vest...

[Refrain]
The trappings of success

[Verse 2]
They offered him the deal ("Here's the contract")
Just like an autograph ("Sign on the line")
No need to think or feel ("Advances are abstract")
Or do anything but laugh ("The future defined.")
He's in possession, yes he's possessed; ("We got ya")
They had no fear, he was so impressed

[Refrain]
By the trappings of success

[Verse 3]
You'll see him down the clubs or at the premiere (It's just another movie, it's just another act)
Strumming in a pub (He's a man of the people), everywhere that's anywhere (Just as long as the people don't talk back)
On the Rio shore or the Rome express
With a Chinese whore or a Greek princess –
[Refrain]
These are the trappings of success

[Bridge]
But he's got no home and he's got no friends
And the human mass repel him
Now he's on his own and can't comprehend
Did he sell out or was he celled in?

(He's a prisoner in a gilded cage
He's a prisoner... he's all the rage.)

[Verse 3]
He's waiting for his plane and his first-class seat;
They've blown out his brains with sticky kiddies' sweets;
Oh, the limo, the coke, the celebrity guest-list
The toady jokes and the gutter press...

[Refrain]
The trappings of success
These are the trappings of success
And there's no way out of this one

[Outro]
The trappings of success
The trappings of success
The trappings of success
The trap of fame;
(In) the trap... big game