Hollywood

The victim list keeps growing
But no one really cares
The gristmill claims another one
Keep your hands in and don’t stare
Hollywood is the golden land
The eternal silver screen
But many souls are lost here
A lot of greats or never beens
Child stars and veterans
The names can fill a book
Look, we’ve lost another one
Keep on moving, no time to look
We show concern when tales we hear
Of celebs dying young
We ruminate on films not made
And songs they’ve never sung
Each busload brings another group
To fill the starstruck void
And the next bus has a dozen more
With dreams, too soon destroyed
It’s been this way since film began
The streets are filled with scores
Of undiscovered junkies,
And photogenic whores.
Some you know and some you don’t
It’s a list a mile long
It’s amazing how these fragile folks
Could end up going wrong
The studios were pimps back then
With bennies all the rage
They loaded up their bonus babes
And then they sent them out on stage
We’ve seen the Little Rascals
You know Alfalfa Switzer, but,
Did you know he died a junkie
From a bullet to his gut?
Scandals, lawsuits, hidden trysts
These stars were fully amped
Girls below the legal age,
Made Chaplins tramp a TRAMP
Arbuckle committed murder
Other’s just od’d
It’s amazing how the failures
Make for a better read
Oh look another bus trip
Past the houses of the stars
All manicured and landscaped lawns
Just to hide the tawdry scars
If you look behind the curtain
Back into the world of Oz
You’ll find the munchkins getting plastered
And dear Judy dead because
They made her a screen idol
They broke down the girl inside
They milked her for her talent
Damn, they took her for a ride,
For every one like Garland
There’s a thousand more in line
Just waiting for their chance to see
Their name upon that sign
Keep together, Keep on moving
There’s lot’s more for you to see
River Phoenix from an overdose
John Belsushi killed by speed
Peg Entwhistle jumped from high atop
The Hollywood sign we see
She decided she had had enough
In either 32 or 33.
Hughes bough loads of starlets
He liked to hide them round the town
But he was always way too busy
Getting up or coming down
James Dean died in a car crash
Add his name unto the glut
And there was young Grace Kelly
It seems our Princess was a slut
Jean Harlows husband shot himself
Clara Bow liked  having fun
In fact she screwed the USC football team
And I think she might have won
Look up and see the smiles
Of the ones who reached their dream
But, many do not go unscathed
In Space they can’t hear you scream!
Sal Mineo was murdered,
Then there’s dear dear Natalie Wood
They’re not saying  RJ done it,
But it sure does not look good
Remember the curly headed kid
Who played Buffy on tv
She ended up so full of drugs
It’s a list from A to Z
Now, when stars have problems
they do reheab and they hide
Back then they never had the chance
They just committed suicide
The man of steel, George Reeves
Was found shot in the head
They’re not sure who killed Superman
So they said suicide instead,
Bob Crane, our Colonel Hogan
Made porn films and did drugs
But, whle Hogan’s Heroes was still on
This was swept under the rugs
We can keep on this forever
Listing failures more than gains
For to be a fallen idol
comes with alot of pain
Child stars, just brushed aside
Their names and faces lost
Their lives are but a footnote
Is their loss the final cost?
You can peek behind the curtain
The wizard’s still there today
But, if you come to visit
Please don’t make the choice to stay
For, the victim list keeps growing
It gets longer every year
But, for many of these fallen stars
Is there one who’ll shed a tear?
It’s an image on a silver screen
We love the work they do
But of each ten thousand who do try
There’s only one who’s dream comes true
So, watch and listen closely
For in Hollywood you’ll find
A list of tragic stories
Who the movies left behind.