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Celluloid Heroes Lyrics
Everybody’s a dreamer and everybody’s a star,
And everybody’s in movies, it doesn’t matter who you are.
There are stars in every city,
In every house and on every street,
And if you walk down hollywood boulevard
Their names are written in concrete!
Don’t step on greta garbo as you walk down the boulevard,
She looks so weak and fragile that’s why she tried to be so hard
But they turned her into a princess
And they sat her on a throne,
But she turned her back on stardom,
Because she wanted to be alone.
You can see all the stars as you walk down hollywood boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you’ve hardly even heard of,
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
Rudolph valentino, looks very much alive,
And he looks up ladies’ dresses as they sadly pass him by.
Avoid stepping on bela lugosi
’cos he’s liable to turn and bite,
But stand close by bette davis
Because hers was such a lonely life.
If you covered him with garbage,
George sanders would still have style,
And if you stamped on mickey rooney
He would still turn round and smile,
But please don’t tread on dearest marilyn
’cos she’s not very tough,
She should have been made of iron or steel,
But she was only made of flesh and blood.
You can see all the stars as you walk down hollywood boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you’ve hardly even heard of.
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
Everybody’s a dreamer and everybody’s a star
And everybody’s in show biz, it doesn’t matter who you are.
And those who are successful,
Be always on your guard,
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along hollywood boulevard.
I wish my life was a non-stop hollywood movie show,
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.
You can see all the stars as you walk along hollywood boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you’ve hardly even heard of,
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
Oh celluloid heroes never feel any pain
Oh celluloid heroes never really die.
I wish my life was a non-stop hollywood movie show,
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.
And everybody’s in movies, it doesn’t matter who you are.
There are stars in every city,
In every house and on every street,
And if you walk down hollywood boulevard
Their names are written in concrete!
She looks so weak and fragile that’s why she tried to be so hard
But they turned her into a princess
And they sat her on a throne,
But she turned her back on stardom,
Because she wanted to be alone.
Some that you recognise, some that you’ve hardly even heard of,
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
Rudolph valentino, looks very much alive,
And he looks up ladies’ dresses as they sadly pass him by.
Avoid stepping on bela lugosi
’cos he’s liable to turn and bite,
But stand close by bette davis
Because hers was such a lonely life.
If you covered him with garbage,
George sanders would still have style,
And if you stamped on mickey rooney
He would still turn round and smile,
But please don’t tread on dearest marilyn
’cos she’s not very tough,
She should have been made of iron or steel,
But she was only made of flesh and blood.
Some that you recognise, some that you’ve hardly even heard of.
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
And everybody’s in show biz, it doesn’t matter who you are.
Be always on your guard,
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along hollywood boulevard.
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.
Some that you recognise, some that you’ve hardly even heard of,
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
Oh celluloid heroes never really die.
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.
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Simply unbelivable songwriting on Davies part I salute you Mr. Davies for the great music you have given us which definately incluedes this fantastic/chilling song. I mean everytime I hear it, it gives me chills. Lets see more comments for this song people!
That's amazing ballad. Ray Davies and co. at their best.
That's amazing ballad. Ray Davies and co. at their best.
Agreed, I love this song.
This song is pretty self explanatory...
One of my favorite Kinks songs, and one of the few songs that can bring a tear to my eye...especially the part about Marilyn Monroe.
Beautiful song.
Love it. I used to think it wasn't that good actually. I used to just listen to the intro and hear it sounded slow so i skipped it to the next songs.
How foolish of me.
Love the song.
To me Ray Davies writes about celluloid heroes and compares being in a famous life to the life of a mundane normal person and saying it's not all that different . it doesn't matter what you become or how high up you get in life . your still venerable in life. success walks hand and hand with failure along Hollywood Boulevard.
I adore this song. I think the more mature Kinks songs are always their best. Ray's wavering voice and the awesome instruments near the end are so gratifying.
I see it as a normal person who wishes they were in movies (I wish my life was a nonstop Hollywood movie show), but in reality the people who ARE in movies are just like normal people himself. So it's ironic. Not only that, but these normal actors/actresses have worked really hard to achieve their stardom that the only way they are remembered to the world (never really die) is through their movies and their star on the boulevard. Pretty sad!! Saying that they (never feel any pain) is also ironic because they do - they are normal like us.
Love the song.
The song pretty much explains itself. I love it when Ray talks about all the stars people along Hollywood Boulevard, and how we remember them now, because of their fame. Greta Garbo turned her back on stardom, Rudolph Valentino died too young, Bela Lugosi will always be remembered as a vampire, Bette Davis had a lonely life, George Sanders was stylish, Mickey Rooney is always happy, And Marilyn Monroe wasn't very tough.
I especially love the lines: "And those who are successful, Be always on your guard, Success walks hand in hand with failure Along hollywood boulevard." because it is so true.
Agreed all around. Lovely song.