I'm Going To Be A Teenage Idol

Album: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)
Play Video
  • Well, there's slim times when my words won't rhyme
    And the hills I face are a long hard climb
    I just sit cross legged with my old guitar
    Ooh, it kind of makes me feel like a rock and roll star

    Well, it makes me laugh Lord it makes me cry
    And I think for once, let me just get high
    Let me get electric put a silk suit on
    Turn my old guitar into a tommy gun

    And root-toot-shoot myself to fame
    Every kid alive gonna know my name
    An overnight phenomenon like there's never been
    A motivated supersonic king of the scene

    I'll be a teenage idol, just give me a break
    I'm gonna be a teenage idol no matter how long it takes
    You can't imagine what it means to me
    I'm gonna grab myself a place in history
    A teenage idol
    That's what I'm gonna be

    Well, life is short and the world is rough
    And if you're gonna boogie, boy, you got to be tough
    Nobody knows if I'm dead or alive
    I just drink myself to sleep each night

    And so I pray to the teenage god of rock
    If I make it big let me stay on top
    You got to cut me loose from this one-room dive
    Put me on the ladder keep this boy alive

    And root-toot-shoot myself to fame
    Every kid alive gonna know my name
    An overnight phenomenon like there's never been
    A motivated supersonic king of the scene

    I'll be a teenage idol, just give me a break
    I'm gonna be a teenage idol no matter how long it takes
    You can't imagine what it means to me
    I'm gonna grab myself a place in history
    A teenage idol, ah, yeah
    Ooh, that's what I'm gonna be Writer/s: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 4

  • Jeffrey from New YorkYes I remember the video from a Elton John concert at Madison Square Garden in 1974 I believe it was the Thanksgiving show that John Lennon played 3 songs with Elton
  • Scott Schultz from Tucson, ArizonaWhen I saw Elton John at the Forum back in the 70's, an animated video of Teenage Idol was shown before the concert. Does anyone else remember it? I've tried to find it but to no avail.
  • Ken from Louisville, KyBoth Bernie and Elton say the inspiration of this song was Marc Boland - England's "teenage idol" of the early 1970's.
  • Kevin from Reading , PaA good example of the kind of quality album tracks Elton managed to produce in his early to mid 70s heyday. Like many of them, it probably could have been a hit single.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.