Celluloid Heroes

Written by: Ray Davies

Published by: Davray Music Ltd.

Chord file

Lyrics:

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.
Rudolph Valentino, looks very much alive,
And he looks up ladies' dresses as they sadly pass him by.
Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi
'Cos 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
'Cos 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.
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.

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.

This song can be found on the following releases:

mono mix, recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

stereo mix (6:20), recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

stereo mix, edit, nearly 2 minutes shorter (4:39), recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London

live, stereo mix (5:23), recorded 14 Jul, 1974 at Hippodrome Theatre, Golders Green, London

live, stereo mix (5:17), recorded 24 Dec, 1977 at Rainbow Theatre, London

live, stereo mix (7:21), recorded 11 Nov, 1979 at Volkshaus, Zürich, Switzerland

live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland

stereo mix, by Rachel & Andy, recorded 1997

stereo mix, by Shoko Suzuki, recorded 2002

stereo mix, by Monti Beton, recorded 2002

stereo mix, by the Friday's, recorded 2005

stereo mix, Ray with the Crouch End Festival Chorus (5:20), recorded Spring 2009 at Air Studios & Konk Studios, London

stereo mix, by James O'malley (5:31), recorded 2010 at Paradiddle Studios, Huntington, NY

stereo mix, by The Kast Off Kinks (7:59), recorded 18-19 Feb 2013 at Roundel Studios, Horton Kirby, Kent

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