Revisionism Street

I saw them standing on a corner

Bathed in ordinary light

They turned away and started walkin'

And faded off into the night

Some years ago they were in fashion

Tonight they couldn't get a seat

They've got themselves a brand new history

From Revisionism Street

Written on Revisionism Street

The years of sacrifice and struggle

The arc of stardom's natural course

The inevitable decline

The wolves waiting at the door

"Let's dig up something really nasty"

"Let's get some clay around their feet"

"No ones memory is sacred 'round here

On Revisionism Street"

"We'll never be in the arena"

"Hey, we'll never have to compete"

"We'll never write a classic novel"

"And we'll never have to be discreet!"

Alfred Hitchcock, Isaac Newton

Elvis Presley, Captain Bligh

They're heroic or pathetic

Depending on which book you buy

Charles Dickens, Jackie Gleason

Burn 'em all, turn up the heat

If there's no truth, use innuendo

this is Revisionism Street

"Let's find ourselves some old acquaintance"

"Let's see what they have to say"

"Some disgruntled ex-employee"

"Presto! Payday!"

A tree falls in the forest

A million copies go to print

Some parasitic little feeder

Sits back and makes a mint

Somewhere a baby's softly sleeping

lt's innocence complete

Unaware they're workin' late tonight

On Revisionism Street