"Celluloid Heroes" Alice Guy Blache Cinema Pioneer Whitney 2009

The Kinks - Celluloid Heroes



Paroles de 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.
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.

18. The Kinks: Celluloid Heroes
The Kinks: Everybody's In Show-Biz (1972)
From the Kinks' early 70's show-biz phase, when their albums were mini-operas, "Celluloid Heroes" is an admirably self contained ode to Hollyood legends long passed, as seen as stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The song itself is a soft ballad, full of wistfulness and nostalgia, with a particularly mellow lead guitar solo; the lyrics name drop everyone from Rudoph Valentino to Bela Lugosi to Betty Grable. It's a lovely song, with one of Ray Davies' most tender vocals; and it is a fittingly kitschy tribute to a kitschy landmark. Sentimental as a black and white movie, but that's the point. It's also one of the Kinks' best cuts from their largely disparaged 70's output. The studio version contains an extra verse left out on the version that appears on the 1980 live album One For The Road, which more people are familiar with.