Money Becomes King

If you reach back in your memory, a little bell might ring
'Bout a time that once existed when money wasn't king
If you stretch your imagination, I'll tell you all a tale
About a time when everything wasn't up for sale

There was this cat named Johnny
Who loved to play and sing
When money wasn't king

We'd all get so excited when John would give a show
We'd raise the cash between us and down the road we'd go
To hear him play that music, it spoke right to my soul
Every verse a diamond and every chorus gold

And the sound was my salvation
It was only everything
Before money became king

Well, I ain't sure how it happened and I don't know exactly when
But everything got bigger and the rules began to bend
And the TV taught the people, how to get their hair to shine
And how sweet life can be if you keep a tight behind

And they raised the cost of living
And how could we have known
They'd double the price of tickets
To go see Johnny's show

So we hocked all our possessions
And we sold a little dope
And went off to rock and roll

We arrived there early in time to see rehearsal
And John came out and lip synced, his new lite beer commercial
And as the crowd arrived as far as I could see
The faces were all different, there was no one there like me

They sat in golden circles and waiters served them wine
And talked through all the music and to John paid little mind
And way up in the nosebleeds, we watched him on the screen
They'd hung between the billboards, so cheaper seats could see

Johnny rock that golden circle, and all those VIP's
And that music that had freed us became a tired routine
And I saw his face in close-up trying to give it all he had
And sometimes his eyes betrayed him, you could see that he was sad

And I tried to rock on with him
But I slowly became bored
Could that man on stage with everything
Somehow need some more?

There was no use in pretending, no magic left to hear
All the music gave me was a craving for lite beer
As I walked out of the arena, my ears began to ring
And money became king