[Chorus]
Stars, they come and go
They come fast, they come slow
They go like the last light of the sun
All in a blaze
All you see is glory
But it gets lonely there
When there's no one there to share
You can shake it away
If you'll hear a story

[Verse 1]
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
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

[Verse 2]
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
The years of forgetting what you know too well
[Bridge]
That you who gave the crown
Have been let down
You try to make amends
Without defending

[Verse 3]
Perhaps pretending
You never saw the eyes
Of young men at twenty-five
Who followed as you walked
Asked for autographs
Kissed you on the cheek
You never could believe
They really loved you, never
Some make it when they're old
Perhaps they have a soul
They aren't afraid to bare
Perhaps there's nothing there

[Bridge]
But anyway
That isn't what I meant to say
I meant to tell about a story
Since we all have stories
But 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
[Verse 4]
But I'll continue anyway until I get it together
Some women have a body
Men would 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

[Outro]
The latest story that​ I know
Is the one that I'm supposed to go out with
And the latest story that I know
Is the one that I'm supposed to go out with
And the latest story that I know
Is the one that I'm supposed to go out with
And the latest story that I know
Is the one that I'm supposed to go out with