Money Becomes King Lyrics - Tom Petty

Money becomes king 

if you reach back in your memory 

a little bell might ring 

about a time that once existed 

when money wasn't king 

if you stretch your imagination 

i'll tell you all a tale 

about a time when everything 

wasn't up for sale 

There was this cat named johnny 

who loved to play and sing 

when money wasn't king 

We'd all get so excited when 

john would give a show 

we'd raise the cash between us 

and down the road we'd go 

to hear him play that music 

it spoke right to my soul 

every verse a diamond 

and every gold 

the sound was my salvation 

it was only everything 

before money became king 

Well i ain't sure how it happened 

and i don't know exactly when 

but everything got bigger 

and the rules began to bend 

and they taught the people 

how to get their hair to shine 

and how sweet life can be 

if you keep a tight behind 

and they raised the cost of living 

and could we have known 

they'd doubled the price of tickets 

to go see johnny's show 

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so we hocked all our possessions 

and we sold a little dope 

and went off to rock and roll 

We arrived there early 

in time to see rehearsal 

and john came out and lip-synched 

his new lite beer commercial 

and as the crowd arrived 

as far as i could see 

the faces were all different 

there was no one there like me 

They sat in golden circles 

and waiters served them wine 

and they talked through al the music 

and to john paid little mind 

and way up in the nosebleeds 

we watched him on the screen 

they'd hung between the billboards 

so cheaper seats could see 

Johnny rocked that golden circle 

and all those vip's 

and that music that had freed us 

became a tired routine 

and i saw his face in close-up 

trying to give it all he had 

and sometimes his eyes betrayed him 

you could see that he was sad 

and i tried to rock on with him 

but i slowly became bored 

could that man on stage 

with everything 

somehow needed more? 

There was no use in pretending 

no magic left to hear 

all the music gave me 

was a craving for lite beer 

as i walked out of the arena 

my ears began to ring 

and money became king 

Photos