Fallen Star Lyrics - Phil Ochs

I was taking my pleasure in a bar I called home 

When an old friend appeared at the door 

He was filled with bad whiskey, so he didn't see me 

As he stumbled the sawdust filled floor 

He was famous for filling our halls with his songs 

Till the words and the music ran dry 

Soon the backstage buffoons and their parasite friends 

Chased a new shooting star through the sky 

(chorus) falling star you know who you are 

You toyed with the notion of failure 

Like kids play with bugs in a jar 

You wouldn't believe it could happen to you 

But this time you've fallen to far. 

Once the news of his comeback was filling the trades 

So the critics came loading their guns 

Oh I watched how they cursed him, nuzzling their drinks 

He was finished before he'd begun 

(chorus) falling star you know who you are 

You were buying a round for our table 

When they brought out the feathers and tar 

You laughed when I said it could happen to you 

You've already fallen too far. 

Falling asleep at the table 

Mumbling your prayers to the floor 

Paying the bill, we bid you farewell 

And quietly slipped out the door 

Oh the night quickly passed in an alchohol haze 

That fire don't ever burn long 

But the lesson I learned in the bar room that night 

Still burns in the words of this song 

(chorus) falling star you know who you are 

You toyed with the notion of failure 

Like kids play with bugs in a jar 

You wouldn't believe it could happen to you 

But this time you've fallen too far 

This time you've fallen too far