50,000

Another obituary in the paper today
One more for the list of those already fallen, you know
Another of our comrades is taken down
Like so many others of our calling
We tweet our anecdotes, our commentary
Are we singing songs in some sad tribute?
While the tabloids are holding a story of kiss and tell
He’s no longer able to deny or refute

Fifty thousand voices rising
Every time he sings
And every word he ever wrote
Reflected back to him

How well I remember the stadiums we played
On a light sweeping across a sea of fifty thousand souls with face
A serious drug you could never kick
A one that you couldn’t imagine you would ever replace
We flew like kites on the wings of amphetamine
Secured only to a bass line and a snare drum beat
But really what did any of it mean
When there’s a higher philosophy of reflection and defeat?

Fifty thousand voices rising
Every time he sings
And every word he ever wrote
Reflected back to him
Still believing that old lie
The one that your own face betrays
Rockstars don’t ever die
They only fade away

Reflecting now on my own past
Inside this prison that I’ve made of myself
I’m feeling a little better today
Although the bathroom mirrors telling me something else
These lines of stress, one bloodshot eye
The unhealthy power of a troubled ghost
But where did I put my spectacle case?
Now I’m half blind and as deaf as any post

Fifty thousand voices rising
Every time he sings
And every word he ever wrote
Reflected back to him
Still believing that old lie
The one that your own face betrays
Rockstars don’t ever die
They only fade away