A Forum That Honors Glen Campbell
https://www.glencampbellforums.com/
jay wrote: ↑Sun Nov 23, 2025 12:05 pm Luckily, Glen didn't sing the whole version of Stars...It is as long as a Baptist hymn.
Yes, Glen's diagnosis as the song doctor was: this song is just too darn long!
Stars
Janis Ian
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 or slow
They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze
And all you see is glory
Hey, but it gets lonely there,
when there’s no one here 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 us are downed.
Some of us are crowned
and some are lost and never found
But most have seen it all
They live their lives in sad cafes and music halls
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. “You must make way”
But they’ll never know the pain
in living with a name you never owned,
or the many years forgetting
what you know too well
That the ones who gave the crown
have been let down
You try to make amends,
without defending
Perhaps pretending you never saw the eyes
of grown men of twenty-five,
that followed as you walked, and asked for autographs
or kissed you on the cheek –
and you never could believe they really loved you
Some make it when they’re old.
Perhaps they have a soul they’re not afraid to bare
or perhaps there’s nothing there
Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light of the sun, all in a blaze
And all you see is glory
Hey, but it gets lonely there,
when there’s no one here to share
We can shake it away, if you’ll hear a story
Some women have a body men will want to see
so they put it on display
Some people play a fine guitar.
I could listen to them play all day
Some ladies really move across a stage
and gee, they sure can dance
I guess I could learn how, if I gave it half a chance
But I always feel so funny when my body tries to soar
And I always seem to worry about missing the next chord
I guess there isn’t anything to put out on display
except the tunes, and whatever else i say
And anyway, that isn’t really what I meant to say…
I meant to tell a story I live from day to day
Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light of the sun,
all in a blaze,
and all you see is glory
But those who’ve seen it all
live out their lives in sad cafes and music halls
We always have a story
So if you don’t lose patience
with my fumbling around
I’ll come up singing for you
even when I’m down