Celluloid Heroes

by The Kinks

From the album: The Ultimate Collection

Track 41 of 44 on The Ultimate Collection (2002).

Duration: 6:22

The Ultimate Collection cover art

Lyrics for Celluloid Heroes

Everybody's a dreamer And everybody's a star And everybody's in movies It doesn't matter who you are There are stars in every city In every house and on every street And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard Their names are written in concrete Don't step on Greta Garbo As you walk down the boulevard She looks so weak and fragile That's why she tried to be so hard But they turned her into a princess And they sat her on a throne But she turned her back on stardom Because she wanted to be alone You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of People who worked, and suffered and struggled for fame Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain (yeah) Rudolph Valentino looks very much alive And he looks up ladies dresses As they sadly pass him by Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi 'Cause he's liable to turn and bite But stand close by Bette Davis Because hers was such a lonely life If you covered him with garbage George Sanders would still have style And if you stamped on Mickey Rooney He would still turn 'round and smile But please, don't tread on dearest Marilyn 'Cause she's not very tough She should have been made of iron or steel But she was only made of flesh and blood You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of Oh, people who worked and suffered and struggled for fame Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain Everybody's a dreamer And everybody's a star And everybody's in show-biz It doesn't matter who you are And those who are successful Be always on your guard Success walks hand in hand with failure Along Hollywood Boulevard I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain And celluloid heroes never really die You can see all the stars as you walk along Hollywood Boulevard Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of People who worked, and suffered and struggled for fame Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain La-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la Oh, celluloid heroes never feel any pain Oh, celluloid heroes never really die I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain And celluloid heroes never really die

Listen On

More from The Ultimate Collection

  1. You Really Got Me
  2. All Day and All of the Night
  3. Tired of Waiting for You
  4. Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy
  5. Set Me Free
  6. See My Friends
  7. Till the End of the Day
  8. Dedicated Follower of Fashion
  9. Sunny Afternoon
  10. Dead End Street
  11. Waterloo Sunset
  12. Death of a Clown
  13. Autumn Almanac
  14. Susannah's Still Alive
  15. Wonderboy
  16. Days
  17. Plastic Man
  18. Victoria
  19. Lola
  20. Apeman
  21. Supersonic Rocket Ship
  22. Better Things
  23. Come Dancing
  24. Don't Forget to Dance
  25. David Watts
  26. Stop Your Sobbing
  27. Dandy
  28. Mr. Pleasant
  29. I Gotta Move
  30. Who'll Be the Next In Line
  31. I Need You
  32. Where Have All the Good Times Gone
  33. Sittin' On My Sofa
  34. A Well Respected Man
  35. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
  36. Love Me Till the Sun Shines
  37. She's Got Everything
  38. Starstruck
  39. Shangri-La
  40. God's Children
  41. Celluloid Heroes
  42. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
  43. Do It Again
  44. Living on a Thin Line