Song 64 ( Stealers Wheel - Star )

This is my favourite song by Gerry Rafferty and/or Stealers Wheel. The song is kind of melancholy and powerful at the same time; it talks about a star who is at the top of his career and asks the question: what will you do when the fame is gone? In the first line it says, "They made you a star," which I think means that it is corporate music he is talking about. In support of this view it says, "They read in the press all about your success and they believe every word they've been told, after all you've been through tell me what will you do when you find yourself out in the cold?" Almost every singer and/or movie star that does not die prematurely will experience this at one time or another, especially the artificial ones made by the corporate music industry. I think that Gerry Rafferty wanted to capture the essence of "fleeting fame" and not being the "in" thing anymore.

Here is the studio version on YouTube.

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