Lyrics The Kid - Gary Lucas, Peter Hammill

The Kid

And the kid walks up to the stage
With his innocence shining
Eager to join the parade of the damned
Bearing his confidence lightly
Wearing his heart on his sleeve
Shares out his passion twice nightly
And he begs us to cast and believe
The kid’s quickly turning the page
While the juices are flowing
No assurance he gave worth a damn
Playing the room like a trouper
Maybe it’s gone to his head
Fame takes him up as a suitor…
The kid gladly climbs in her bed
Call it a Faustian deal
But the demons that chase him are real enough
The kid at the front of the stage gathers all the attention
Help that he hired has been paid off in full
Sweeps up the laurels and plaudits
It seems they’re no more than his due
A price will be paid in the audit
But the kid never thought such things through
The kid’s terrified of the stage
With his innocence tarnished
Buries himself in ahazy half-life
Fame’s a vindictive and unyielding lover…
Hiding away on his own
The kid’s not the first to discover
Applause can’t sustain you alone
Call it a Faustian deal
But the demons that chase him are real enough
Everything he touched is broken
Everything is damned
And he’s running away from the stage
Just as fast as he can