Old jazz guys being interviewedThirty years beyond their primeWith memories of road showsFrom the Golden Age of SwingtimeThe piano player strikes a chordLeans forward on his stoolAnd through they've all seen better daysThey've got that air of faded coolIt's an entree of another worldOne of tailcoats and victrolasAnd one day they'll make TV showsOn aging rock-and-rollersOn aging rock-and-rollersThen came the kid with the red ColoramaAnd the Watkins copycat echo chamber and the toothy grinWith one hand glued to the tremolo armWhile the singer moves around like an Elvis cloneThey really packed them inAnd every song was short and sweet, and every beat was fastAnd every paper in the land said rock-and-roll won't lastYou know it just won't last, it's such a rapid burnAnd it's a hard, hard, hard lesson to learnIt's a hard, hard, hard lesson to learnWell what are you going to do when it's all over?What are you going to do right now?What are you going to to when it's all over?Will you get along somehow?I just don't knowFeeling like I do right nowAsk me tomorrowRed guitar, red guitarYou know I really miss that red guitarRed guitar, red guitarYou know I reallly miss that red guitarAnd you can write this on my tombstoneThat'll be my fateI'm a gradute of rock-and-rollClass of '58'58, '58, I'm a graduate of the class of '58Red guitar, '58, I'm a graduate of the class of '58And there's no use analyzing these anthems that were sungRock-and-roll's not good or badIt's just the sound of being youngAnd it's a long long way from pompadoursAnd doo-wop and payolaAnd one day they'll make TV shows on aging rock-and-rollersOne day they'llmakeTV shows on aging rock-and-rollers.
Lyrics by Al Stewart
(A Child's View Of) The Eisenhower Years \ A Long Way Down From Stephanie A Long Way Down To Stephanie A Man For All Seasons A Small Fruit Song Accident On 3rd Street Almost Lucy Amsterdam Angel Of Mercy Angry Bird Anna Anniversary Antarctica Apple Cider Re-Constitution Bad Reputation Ballad Of Mary Foster Bedsitter Images Beleeka Doodle Day Black Hill Broadway Hotel Cafe Society Candidate Candy Came Back Candy Came Back [*] Carol Charlotte Corday Cleave To Me Clifton In The Rain Constantinople Denise at 16 Don't Forget Me Ear Of The Night Electric Los Angeles Sunset Elvis At The Wheel End Of The Day Feel Like Fields Of France Flying Sorcery Football Hero Genie On A Table Top Gethsemane, Again Gypsy & the Rose Hanno The Navigator Here in angloa Here in angola Hipposong How Does It Happen [*] I'm Falling If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It [Live] In Brooklyn In Red Square [*] - Al Stewart, Peter White In the Dark Indian Summer Ivich Josephine Baker Katherine Of Oregon King Of Portugal Last Days Of The Century License To Steal Life And Life Only Life In Dark Water Like William McKinley Loneliest Place On The Map Lord Grenville Lord Salisbury Lori don t go right now Lori, Don’t Go Right Now Love Chronicles Lover Man Lover Man [*] Manuscript Merlin's Time Midas Shadow Midnight Rocks Modern Times Mona Lisa Talking Mondo Sinistro Murmansk Run / Ellis Island Murmansk Run\/Ellis Island Murmansk runellis island My Enemies Have Sweet Voices Necromancer Next Time Night Meeting Night Rolls In Night Train To Munich Nostradamus Not The One Old Admirals Old Compton Street Blues On the Border One Stage Before One That Got Away - Al Stewart, Peter White One Two Three One two three 1 2 3 One, Two, Three (1, 2, 3) Optical Illusion Out in the Snow Paint By Numbers Peter On The White Sea Post World War Two Blues Pretty Golden Hair Rain Barrel Real And Unreal Red Toupee Ringing Of Bells Ringing of Bells [*] Roads To Moscow Roads to Moscow [Live] Rocks In the Ocean Royal Courtship Rumours Of War Rumours of War - Al Stewart, Peter White Running Man Russians & Americans Sailing Into The Future Samuel, Oh How You've Changed Samuel, Oh How You've Changed! Sand in Your Shoes Scandinavian Girl Shah Of Shahs Silver Kettle Sirens Of Titan Sleepwalking Soho (Needless To Say) Soho (Needless to Say) [Alternate Take] Somewhere in England 1915 Song On the Radio Song on the Radio [Live] Songs Out of Clay Strange Girl Swiss Cottage Maneuvers Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres Terminal Eyes The Candidate The Carmichaels The Dark And Rolling Sea The Dark And The Rolling Sea The Ear Of The Night The Elf The Gypsy and the Rose The Last Day of June 1934 The Loneliest Place On The Map The News From Spain The One That Got Away The Palace Of Versailles The Year of the Cat Time Passages Time Passages [Live] Timeless Skies Tonton Macoute Tonton Macoute [*] Trains Trespasser Turn Into Earth Valentina Way Warren Harding What's Going On? Where Are They Now Where Are They Now? Year Of The Cat You Don't Even Know Me You Should Have Listened To Al Zero She Flies