Sunset Boulevard (from Sunset Boulevard)

Sure, I came out here to make my name

Wanted my pool, my dose of fame

Wanted my parking space at Warner's

But after a year, a one-room hell

A Murphy bed, a rancid smell

Wallpaper peeling at the corners

Sunset Boulevard, twisting boulevard

Secretive and rich, a little scary

Sunset Boulevard, tempting boulevard

Waiting there to swallow the unwary

Dreams are not enough to win a war

Out here they're always keeping score

Beneath the tan, the battle rages

Smile a rented smile, fill someone's glass

Kiss someone's wife, kiss someone's ass

We do whatever pays the wages

Sunset Boulevard, headline boulevard

Getting there is only the beginning

Sunset Boulevard, jackpot boulevard

Once you've won, you have to go on winning

You think I've sold out? Dead right, I've sold out

I've just been waiting for the right offer

Comfortable quarters, regular rations

Twenty-four-hour, five-star room service

And if I'm honest, I like the lady

I can't help being touched by her folly

I'm treading water, taking the money

Watching her sunset! Ha! Well, I'm a writer

L.A.'s changed a lot over the years

Since those brave Gold Rush pioneers

Came in their creaky covered wagons

Far as they could go, end of the line

Their dreams were yours, their dreams were mine

But in their dreams were hidden dragons

Sunset Boulevard, frenzied boulevard

Swamped with every kind of false emotion

Sunset Boulevard, brutal boulevard

Just like you, we'll wind up in the ocean

She was sinking fast, I threw a rope

Now I have suits and she has hope

It seemed an elegant solution

One day this must end, it isn't real

Still I'll enjoy a hearty meal

Before tomorrow's execution

Sunset Boulevard, ruthless boulevard

Destination for the stony-hearted

Sunset Boulevard, lethal boulevard

Everyone's forgotten how they started