Johnny was a schoolboy
When he heard his first Beatles song
'Love Me Do' I think it was
And from there it didn't take him long

Got himself a guitar
Used to play every night
Now he's in a rock and roll outfit
And everything's all right
Don't ya know

Johnny told his mama
Hey, Mama, I'm going away
I'm gonna hit the big time
Gonna be a big star someday

Momma came to the door
With a teardrop in her eye
Johnny said "Don't cry Momma,
Smile and wave goodbye."

Don't you know

[Chorus]
Don't you know
That you are a shooting star,(don't you know, don't you know)
Don't you know that you are
A shooting star
And all the world will love you
Just as long, as long as you are?

Johnny made a record
Went straight up to number one
Suddenly everyone loved to hear him sing his song
Watching the world go by
Surprising it goes so fast
Johnny looked around him
And said "Well I made the big time at last."

[Chorus]

A shooting star

[Chorus]

Johnny died one night
Died in his bed
Bottle of whiskey, sleeping tablets
By his head

Johnny's life passed him
By like a warm summer day
If you listen to the wind
You can still hear him play

Don't you know

[Chorus]



Lyrics submitted by jhines0042

Track duration: 06:16

"Shooting Star" as written by Paul Rodgers

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Shooting Star song meanings
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38 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Many people have referenced Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison as inspiration for this song but no-one has yet mentioned Paul Rodger's bandmate and lead guitarist in Free,Paul Kossoff: he also died young from drug abuse.
    Despite that I think that this song is just a general comment about the self-destructive rock n roll lifestyle.
    Flag bigglesworth99on August 31, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is about THE porn star John "Wadd" Holmes.
    Watch (again?) "Wonderland"(2003).
    Flag BrazilianFanon October 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't think this song was about any one rock star in particular, and I think the name "Johnny" in this song is a general name given to the typical rock star who dies well before his time. And I believe this song continues to resonate even to this day, especially when we hear of a rock star death.

    A year ago, we had a string of rock star deaths the likes of which we haven't seen since the original 4 members of the "27 Club". This string of deaths started 4 days before the start of 2010 with Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan of Avenged Sevenfold, and within a span of 5 more months, the rock community lost Peter Steele (Type O Negative), Ronnie James Dio (Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven and Hell), and Paul Gray (Slipknot).

    This song came flashing in my mind earlier today when I discovered that former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr passed away.
    Flagged Droogie83on March 10, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:jim morrison loved his whiskey
    Flag ks6675on January 22, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Is this song inspired by a real rock star or is the character in this song fictional?

    I read this from wikipedia:

    This song has been related to many rock stars who have also died of drug overdoses. Bad Company lead singer, Paul Rodgers, has said the song is a warning to people in the music industry and has referenced Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix in interviews when asked about the song.

    "At that particular time you had Jimi Hendrix*, Janis Joplin...just a catalog of people who didn't make it, who overdosed in their beds...that was the gem of this song. It's a story and it's almost a warning." — Guitar World, April 1999.
    Flag randomstofilon September 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:the obvious thing is ya about a boy who grows up and becomes a rock star. everyone's dream right there. But a meaning that's a little more deep is to not live to fast. Take life one day at a time, enjoy the moment but prepare for the future. Johnny was a star before he knew it and it hit him real hard. "Watching the world go by, surprised it goes so fast." "Johnny's life passed him by like a warm summer's day." Johnny was just livin the dream, but he lived to fast.
    Flag drumking12on February 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For me, this song is not necessarily about dying young as a rock star. When it say "Don't YOU know YOU are a shooting star," who is the "you" that they are singing about? We could take it at face value and assume it's some rocker named Johnny, or we could assume that they are speaking to the listener through Johnny. I think they are stating that life is short, and that people are superficial, loving you only for the short time you are on top. For those in the music industry, this definitely applies. Rock, metal, rap, r&b, etc. are genres that cater to youth, and those in the industry know that their time to shine is very short (like shooting stars). On the other hand, as we get older, we all come to the realization that life is very short, and we start to wonder, "Where did all the time go?" Just my thoughts...
    Flag eholton January 08, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:for all those people who think its jimi hendrix, its not. even though jimi's real name is johnny, it says in the lyrics "johnny was a school boy when he heard his first beatles song." jimmy hendrix was born 1943 so when he was a school boy it was the early 50's and the beatles didn't exist yet.
    Flag beatlebobon May 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:great song
    Flag smilingdigon December 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:From what I gather this song is an homage to Dead musicians ie. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Stu Sutcliffe etc.
    Flag Partyman2113on October 02, 2008   Link

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