Stars (Live – Montreux Jazz Festival 1976)

de Nina Simone

I was never one for singing what I really feel
Except tonight, I'm bringing everything I know that's real

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 there to share
We can shake it away
If you'll hear a story

People lust for fame, like athletes in a game
We break our 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

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
But they'll never know the pain of using a name you never owned
Or the years of 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 a young man of twenty-five
That follow as you walk and asks for autographs
Or kiss 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)

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 you about the mood that is in the United States today
And permeating even Switzerland, is goes
But I'll continue it 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

The latest story that I know, is the one that I was supposed to go out with
And the latest story that I know, is the one that I was supposed to go out with