It's not always a storybook, though
Truth, good guys lose
It doesn't work out the way you want, y'know
But nobody admits they're a failure
But you can't run from the truth

[Verse 1]
Welcome to L.A., the big city of dreams
Where most of the results never equal the means
Take a look at this girl Jean, only eighteen
Moved to Hollywood to take a shot at big screens
Born in North Dakota, thought she'd give it a try
Dreamt of of being famous when she saw Ione Skye
Parents were supportive, said to give it her all
Cause they loved her in the town's rendition of "Guys and Dolls"
Now in the U-Haul, packed everything she got
With her lucky teddy bear and a stack of head shots
Optimism got her smiling the whole drive
Been saving up her money since 1995
She's got a career all set in her mind
She'll be starring in a Brett Ratner flick in no time
First day alone, in her bed for the night
It's kind of lonely, but this is how it all starts, right?

[Hook: Cassidy Ledden & Jamey Staub]
I can't trust this silence anymore
Sighing quiet so you can ignore
I'm all alone amongst these crowded streets
With their neon lights
I can't dream anymore
[Verse 2]
A few months pass and it's harder than she thought
She's been on lots of calls but hasn't gotten a part
She's got a manager to help her out with her career
She feels a little weird when he taps her on the rear
This town's so big, it's tough to get a start
Her money's dwindling and she's losing her heart
She's going out to clubs, mingling within the scene
Wasted all the time to forget how she has been
She's homesick, it's just not the same
Going to premieres with agents twice her age
And every producer only wants her in bed
And she's thought about it a few times in her head
Cause that might pay off, it's too far to stop this
And offered magazines, but they were all topless
Say it's for the art, they seem like nice guys
Man, they all say stardom takes time

[Hook]

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
Now it's been three years and it seems close to hopeless
She's a waitress now cause of the eviction notice
Rarely has the time to rehearse and be spotted
Can't afford a TV, let alone be on it
She watches Drew Barrymore and yells that she's a whore
And assumes she slept with everyone in 1994
The drive that she had so she could achieve fame
Is replaced by the drugs that help her ease the pain
Some movie moguls now cast her as a whore
Except there's no cameras and that's what she's paid for
She's slept with tons of people who ended up fake
With memories of Dad made it all that she could take
Now she's on sleeping pills, she cut herself raw
In blood wrote "stardom takes time" on her wall
With the camera on the tripod in her room
Lucky teddy bear in one hand, gun in the other
Boom
[Hook x2]