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
But it gets lonely there
when there's no one here to share.
We can shake it away, if you'll hear a story.

People lust for fame,
like athletes in a game.
We 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 cafes 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 they'll never know the pain
of using a name you never owned
the years 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 of twenty-five
who followed as you walked and asked for autographs
Or kissed you on the cheek and you never could believe they really loved you
Never
Some make it when they're old
(Perhaps they have a soul
they're not afraid to bare
or perhaps there's nothing there)


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
But most have seen it all,
they live their lives in sad cafes and music halls,
They always have a story

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.

Some ladies really move across the stage and gee,
they sure can dance
I guess I could learn how,
if I gave it half a chance
But I always feel so funny
when my body tries to soar
And I seem to always worry
about missing the next chord
I guess there isn't anything to put up on display
Except the tunes, and whatever else I say
But anyway, that isn't really what I meant to say

I meant to tell a story
I live from day to day

Stars, they come and go,
they're coming fast they come slow
They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze
And all you see is glory
But most have seen it all,
who live their lives in sad cafes and music halls
And we always have a story
So if you don't lose patience with my fumbling around
I'll come up singing for you,
even when I'm down.

Janis Ian
and
contributed by Nina Simone
"Stars"
1974