Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Last DJ Album Lyrics

Well you can't turn him into a company man
You can't turn him into a whore
And the boys upstairs just don't understand anymore

Well the top brass don't like him talking so much
And he won't play what they say to play
And he don't want to change what don't need to change

There goes the last D J
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say, hey, hey, hey

And there goes your freedom of choice
There goes the last human voice
There goes the last D J

Well some folks say they're gonna hang him so high
'Cause you just can't do what he did
There're some things you just can't put in the minds of those kids

As we celebrate mediocrity
All the boys upstairs want to see
How much you'll pay for what you used to get for free?

There goes the last D J
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say, hey, hey, hey

And there goes your freedom of choice
There goes the last human voice
And there goes the last D J

Well he got him a station down in Mexico
And sometimes it'll kind of come in
And I'll bust a move and remember how it was back then

There goes the last D J
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say, hey, hey, hey

And there goes your freedom of choice
There goes the last human voice
And there goes the last D J

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 chorus 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

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 all 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

Goin' down to Lillian's music store
To buy a black diamond string
Gonna wind it up on my guitar
Gonna make that silver sing

Like it was Dreamville
A long time ago
A million miles away
All the trees were green
In Dreamville

I keep wakin' up all by myself
With a bluejay in my brain
Flappin' his wings, makin' me sing
It was just about to rain

Like it was Dreamville
Where I was born
Light years from here
And the air smelled good
In Dreamville

Like it was Dreamville
A long time ago
Light years from here
And the trees were green
In Dreamville

Ridin' with my mamma
To Glen Springs Pool
The water was cold
My lips were blue
There was rock and roll
Across the dial
When I think of her
It makes me smile

Like it was Dreamville
A long time ago
A million miles away
All the trees were green
In Dreamville, in Dreamville

Yeah it was Dreamville
A long time ago
Light years from here
And the air smelled good
In Dreamville, in Dreamville

My name's joe
I'm the CEO
Yeah, I'm the man
Makes the big wheels roll
I'm the hand on the green light switch
You get to be famous
I get to be rich

Go get me a kid
With a good-looking face
Bring me a kid
Can remember his place
Some hungry poet
Son of a bitch
He gets to be famous
I get to be rich

Or bring me a girl
They're always the best
You put 'em on stage
And you have 'em undress
Some angel whore
Who can learn a guitar lick
Hey, now that's what I call music

Well they'll come lookin' for money
When the public gets bored
But we'll fight 'em with lawyers
They could never afford
Yeah, I'll make her look
Like a spoiled little bitch
She gets to be famous
I get to be rich

Or bring me a girl
There always the best
You put 'em on stage
And you have 'em undress
Some angel whore
Could learn a guitar lick
Hey, now that's what I call
Music

So burnt-out Johnny
Thinks our books are shifty
What good's that alchie to me when he's fifty
We could move catalog
If he'd only die quicker
Send my regards to the gig
And a case of good liquor
He gets to be famous
I get to be rich
He gets to be famous
I get to be rich

My name's Joe, I'm the CEO
I'm the man makes
The big wheels roll

You got a different kind of
Look in your eye
Something about you
That I don't recognize
These things are talked about
On quiet tones
I never saw a person
So all alone

Some momma's cryin'
Some daddy's sad
When a kid goes bad
Makes you wonder
What made him mad
When a kid goes bad

You built for innocence
You built for joy
Suddenly evil's all that
You enjoy
But if you shoot at every
One you see, well you
Can't be my friend 'cause
You might shoot at me

Some momma's cryin'
Some daddy's sad
When a kid goes bad
Makes you wonder
What made him mad
When a kid goes bad

When a kid goes bad
When a kid goes bad
Somewhere along the way
Did we let you down
Did you cry out for help and
None was around
Don't try to tell me
That you don't know the score
Are you so shut down
You can't feel anymore?

Some momma's cryin'
Some daddy's sad
When a kid goes bad
Makes you wonder
What made him mad
When a kid goes bad

When a kid goes bad

Madmen crawl
Across the wall
Knight gets away
Kings all fall
Queens chase men
The saints all sin
And good things
All must end

But she goes on forever
But she goes on forever
She's gonna shine forever

Like a diamond
In the sunlight

Big full moon
Above the road
I'm a long long way
From tomorrow
Gotta light my way
Down this highway
To get to her

But she goes on forever
She goes on forever
Yeah she's gonna shine forever

Like a diamond
In the sunlight

Deacons steal
And ma can't feel
If you're lonely
And behind the wheel
When the ground gives way
You have to pray
To the unknown
And hope it's real

But she goes on forever
She goes on forever
Yeah, she's gonna shine forever

She goes on forever
She goes on forever
Yeah, she's gonna shine forever

Like a diamond
In the sunlight

Lord please watch over
All these lost children
Born to chase the hurricane
Please shine some light down
On those who wander
Filled with hunger and pain
Please raise the wind for
All those out sailing
On an ocean alone
Lord shine a light
On all these lost children
Far away from their home
Lord keep an eye on
All these lost children
Swept away in the wind
Please shine some light down
On all those travelin'
Lead them all home again

She took a rolled-up twenty
Out of her pocket
And paid for my cigarettes
We were friends at first sight
In the 7-Eleven light
She said here let me cover it
And I rode shotgun all that night
She drove and never made a sound
When I asked if there was
Anything wrong
She said nothin' worth talking about

It's a blue Sunday
Down the interstate
It's a blue Sunday
Blue with shades of gray

Her back seat could have been a hotel
I slept for a thousand years
Every now and then she'd
Laugh out loud for no reason
I pretended not to hear
And rolled my jacket up under my head
And stretched my body out
Couldn't be too far in front
Of her daddy's bloodhounds
But I ain't gonna worry now

It was a blue Sunday
Down the interstate
A blue Sunday
Yeah blue with shades of gray
Yeah you know me
We've never met before
It's a blue Sunday
When it's time to leave you go

One, two, three, four
Take a look at what I got
I can't promise you a lot
But you and me
And the road ahead

And I can't save you from yourself
You gotta want it
All that's left is you and me
And the road ahead

Wherever that wind might go
Wherever that river rolls
You know I will go with you

Uh uh

Wherever that wind might go
Wherever that river rolls
You know I will go with you

Oh oh oh
Lookin' over the mountain's crown
The water roars and tumbles down
Like you and me
And the road ahead

Just you and me
And the road ahead
Yeah

He's the man who loves women
Women, women, women
He's the man who loves women
And fallin' in love every day

When he sees a señorita
It's a sure thing that he'll heed her
He's the man who loves women
Fallin' in love every day

But in the mornin'
When she wakes up
He'll be far away
Keepin' his secret safe
Hey, hey, hey

He's quite prepared to mingle
Comes on like he's single
He's the man who love s women
And fallin' in love's just his way
One of these days he's gonna pay
For falling in love every day

Oh stay away
He's the man who loves women

You never had a chance, did you, babe
So good lookin', so insecure
And now you say you can't remember
When the line you drew began to blur
Yeah, when all of this is over
Should I lose you in the smoke
I want you to know you were the one

And may my love travel with you everywhere
Baby, may my love travel with you always

Maggie's still trying to rope a tornado
Joe's in the backyard trying to keep things simple
And the lonely DJ's digging a ditch
Trying to keep the flames from the temple

Oh if perhaps I lose you
In the smoke down the road
I want you to know you were the one

And may my love travel with you everywhere
Yeah, may my love travel with you always

How about a cheer for all those bad girls
And all those boys that play that rock 'n' roll
They love it like you love Jesus
It does the same thing to their souls

Yeah, when all of this is over
Should I lose you in the smoke
I want you to know
You were the one

And may my love travel with you everywhere
Yeah may my love travel with you always

Baby may my love travel, with you everywhere
Yeah may my love travel, with you always

Well you may take my money
You may turn off my microphone
But you can't steal
What you can't feel
Can't stop the sun from shining
Down and down and down

And you may think you control things
But there'll be more just like me
Who won't give in
Who'll rise again
Can't stop the world from turning
'Round and 'round and 'round

Hey mister business man
Be sure to wash your hands
Be careful where you stand
'Cause life goes on and on and on

And you may think it's all over
But there'll be more just like me
Who won't give in
Who'll rise again
Can't stop a man from dreaming
On and on and on