Ah, it took me years to write it
They were the best years of my life
It was a beautiful song
But it ran too long
If you're gonna have a hit
You gotta make it fit
So they cut it down to 3:05

 

I am the entertainer, the idol of my age
I make all kinds of money when I go on the stage
You see me in the papers, I've been in the magazines
But if I go cold, I won't get sold
I get put in the back in the discount rack
Like another can of beans

 

I am the entertainer
And I know just where I stand
Another serenader
And another long-haired band

 

 

Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts,
But I know the game, you'll forget my name,
I won't be here in another year
If I don't stay on the charts

 

It was the third of September; that day I'll always remember,
'Cause that was the day that my daddy died.
I never got a chance to see him; never heard nothin' but bad things about him.
Mama I'm depending on you to tell me the truth.

 

And Mama just hung her head and said,
"Son, Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was alone. "
"Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
(And when he died) All he left us was alone. "

 

Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day, in his life
And Momma, some bad talk goin' round town sayin' that Papa had three outside children
And another wife, and that ain't right
Heard them talking Papa doing some store front preachin'
Talked about saving souls and all the time reaching
Dealing in debt, and stealing in the name of the law
Momma just hung her head and said...

 

"Papa was a rolling stone, my son
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died all he left us was alone.
Hey, Papa was a rolling stone, my son.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died all he left us was alone."
Uh

 

I heard Papa called himself a jack of all trades
Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave
Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal
To pay his bills
Hey Momma,
Folks say Papa never was much on thinking
Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking
Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth
Momma looked up with a tear in her eye and said, son...