My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.

Out of the blue
And into the black
They give you this,
But you pay for that
And once you're gone,
You can never come back
When you're out of the blue
And into the black.

The king is gone
But he's not forgotten
This is the story
Of a Johnny Rotten
It's better to burn out
Than it is to rust
The king is gone
But he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.

They were hiding behind hay bales,
They were planting
In the full moon
They had given all they had
For something new
But the light of day was on them,
They could see the thrashers coming
And the water
Shone like diamonds in the dew.

And I was just getting up,
Hit the road before it's light
Trying to catch an hour on the sun
When I saw
Those thrashers rolling by,
Looking more than two lanes wide
I was feelin'
Like my day had just begun.

Where the eagle glides ascending
There's an ancient river bending
Down the timeless gorge of changes
Where sleeplessness awaits
I searched out my companions,
Who were lost in crystal canyons
When the aimless blade of science
Slashed the pearly gates.

It was then I knew I'd had enough,
Burned my credit card for fuel
Headed out to where the pavement
Turns to sand
With a one-way ticket
To the land of truth
And my suitcase in my hand
How I lost my friends
I still don't understand.

They had the best selection,
They were poisoned with protection
There was nothing that they needed,
Nothing left to find
They were lost in rock formations
Or became park bench mutations
On the sidewalks
And in the stations
They were waiting, waiting.

So I got bored and left them there,
They were just deadweight to me
Better down the road
Without that load
Brings back the time
When I was eight or nine
I was watchin' my mama's T.V.,
It was that great
Grand Canyon rescue episode.

Where the vulture glides descending
On an asphalt highway bending
Thru libraries and museums,
Galaxies and stars
Down the windy halls of friendship
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip
The motel of lost companions
Waits with heated pool and bar.

But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line
In the field of time
When the thrasher comes,
I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine.

Remember the Alamo
When help was on the way
It's better here and now,
I feel that good today.

I'd like to take a walk
But not around the block
I really got some news
I met a man from Mars.
He picked up all my guitars
And played me traveling songs.

And when we got on ship
He brought out
Something for the trip
And said, It's old but it's good
Like any other primitive would.

I'm gonna ride my llama
From Peru to Texarkana
I wanna ride him good
In my old neighborhood
I'm gonna ride him good
In my old neighborhood.

And when we got on ship
He brought out
Something for the trip
And said, It's old but it's good
Like any other primitive would.

Aurora borealis
The icy sky at night
Paddles cut the water
In a long and hurried flight
From the white man
To the fields of green
And the homeland
We've never seen.

They killed us in our tepee
And they cut our women down
They might have left some babies
Cryin' on the ground
But the firesticks
And the wagons come
And the night falls
On the setting sun.

They massacred the buffalo
Kitty corner from the bank
The taxis run across my feet
And my eyes have turned to blanks
In my little box
At the top of the stairs
With my Indian rug
And a pipe to share.

I wish a was a trapper
I would give thousand pelts
To sleep with Pocahontas
And find out how she felt
In the mornin'
On the fields of green
In the homeland
We've never seen.

And maybe Marlon Brando
Will be there by the fire
We'll sit and talk of Hollywood
And the good things there for hire
And the Astrodome
And the first tepee
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
Pocahontas.

I could live inside a tepee
I could die
In Penthouse thirty-five
You could lose me on the freeway
But I would still
Make it back alive.

As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
There'll be wind in the canyon
Moon on the rise
As long as we can sail away.

See the losers in the best bars
Meet the winners in the dives
Where the people are the real stars
All the rest of their lives.

As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
There'll be wind in the canyon
Moon on the rise
As long as we can sail away.

There's a road
Stretched out between us
Like a ribbon on the high plain
Down from Phoenix through Salinas
'Round the bend and back again.

As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away
There'll be wind in the canyon
Moon on the rise
As long as we can sail away
As long as we can sail away.

Look out, Mama,
There's a white boat
Comin' up the river
With a big red beacon,
And a flag,
And a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John,
'Cause it don't
Look like they're here
To deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side
And a gun
And it's makin' big waves.

Daddy's gone,
My brother's out hunting
In the mountains
Big John's been drinking
Since the river took Emmy-Lou
So the powers that be
Left me here
To do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin' what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.

Daddy's rifle in my hand
Felt reassurin'
He told me,
Red means run, son,
Numbers add up to nothin'
But when the first shot
Hit the docks I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.

Shelter me from the powder
And the finger
Cover me with the thought
That pulled the trigger
Think of me
As one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I'll miss her.

People, pick up
On what I'm puttin' down now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Down at every
Laundromat in town now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

While they're washin'
You can hear this sound now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Divorcee!

Hard to believe
That love is free now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Out on the street
With the whole family now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Hard to believe
That love is free now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Divorcee!

People, pick up
On what I'm puttin' down now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Down in every
Laundromat in town now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

While they're washin'
You can hear this sound now

Welfare mothers
Make better lovers

Divorcee!

Last night I was cool
At the pool hall
Held the table for eleven games
Nothing was easier
Than the first seven
I beat a woman with varicose veins.

She stopped to see
Herself in the mirror
Fix her hair and hide heir veins
And she lost the game.

Next day I went to the dentist
He pulled some teeth
And I lost some blood
We'd like to thank you
For the cards you sent us
My wives and I were all choked up.

I recall how Caesar and Cleo
Made love in the Milky Way
They needed boats
And armies to get there
I know there's a better way.

I saw the movie and I read the book
But when it happened to me
I sure was glad I had what it took
To get away.

Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away, gotta get away

I'm making another delivery
Of chemicals and sacred roots
I'll hold what you have to give me
But I'll use what I have to use.

The lasers are in the lab
The old man
Is dressed in white clothes
Everybody says he's mad
No one knows
The things that he knows.

No one knows, no one knows
No one knows, no one knows

I'm sleepin' in every hallway
I just can't accept the stares
I'm using too many covers
I'm warm now so I don't care.

I'm thinkin' of no one in my mind
Sedan delivery
Is a job I know I'll keep
It sure was hard to find.

Hard to find. hard to find
Hard to find. hard to find

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.

Out of the blue
And into the black
You pay for this,
But they give you that
And once you're gone,
You can't come back
When you're out of the blue
And into the black.

The king is gone
But he's not forgotten
Is this the story
Of Johnny Rotten?
It's better to burn out
'cause rust never sleeps
The king is gone
But he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.