Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Art is dead, art is dead
Art is dead, art is dead
Entertainers like to seem complicated
But we're not complicated
I can explain it pretty easily
Have you ever been to a birthday party for children
And one of the children won't stop screaming
Cause he's just a little attention attractor
When he grows up to be a comic or actor
He'll be rewarded for never maturing
For never understanding or learning
That every day can't be about him
There's other people you selfish asshole
I must be psychotic, I must be demented
To think that I'm worthy of all this attention,
Of all of this money you worked really hard for
I slept in late while you worked at the drug store.
My drug's attention, I am an addict
but I get paid to indulge in my habit
It's all an illusion, I'm wearing make-up
I'm wearing make-up, make-up, make-up, make-up
Art is dead, so people think you're funny
How do you get those people's money?
Art is dead, we're rolling in dough
While Carlin rolls in his grave, in his grave, in his grave.
This show has got a budget
The show has got a budget
And all the poor people way more deserving of the money won't budge it
Cause I wanted my name in lights
When I could have fed a family of four
For forty fucking fortnights, forty fucking fortnights
I am an artist, please god forgive me
I am an artist, please don't revere me
I am an artist, please don't respect me
I am an artist, feel free to correct me
A self-centered artist, self-obsessed artist
I am an artist, I am an artist
But I'm just a kid, I'm just a kid, kid
And maybe I'll grow out of it
Art is dead, art is dead
Entertainers like to seem complicated
But we're not complicated
I can explain it pretty easily
Have you ever been to a birthday party for children
And one of the children won't stop screaming
Cause he's just a little attention attractor
When he grows up to be a comic or actor
He'll be rewarded for never maturing
For never understanding or learning
That every day can't be about him
There's other people you selfish asshole
I must be psychotic, I must be demented
To think that I'm worthy of all this attention,
Of all of this money you worked really hard for
I slept in late while you worked at the drug store.
My drug's attention, I am an addict
but I get paid to indulge in my habit
It's all an illusion, I'm wearing make-up
I'm wearing make-up, make-up, make-up, make-up
Art is dead, so people think you're funny
How do you get those people's money?
Art is dead, we're rolling in dough
While Carlin rolls in his grave, in his grave, in his grave.
This show has got a budget
The show has got a budget
And all the poor people way more deserving of the money won't budge it
Cause I wanted my name in lights
When I could have fed a family of four
For forty fucking fortnights, forty fucking fortnights
I am an artist, please god forgive me
I am an artist, please don't revere me
I am an artist, please don't respect me
I am an artist, feel free to correct me
A self-centered artist, self-obsessed artist
I am an artist, I am an artist
But I'm just a kid, I'm just a kid, kid
And maybe I'll grow out of it
Lyrics submitted by Xyless
Track duration: 02:33
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
The preceding line is "the show has got a budget". So essentially he is saying that the money used to create his show (including, presumably, his own fee) could have been given to a more deserving cause (i.e. the poor), but he didn't want to give the money away (i.e. the poor people couldn't "budge it") - as he "wanted his name in lights". This is all about artistic guilt; he is asking, why am I engaged in this self-indulgent, decadent activity while people are struggling to survive?
Personally, I think he's being a little hard on himself! At least what he's doing isn't destructive, unlike some other professions we could mention..... Great song though.