So you wanna be a rock n' roll star?
Well, listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
And take some time
Learn how to play
Just learn how to play

Well, I was down at the New Amsterdam
Just staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with a black-haired flamingo dancer
You know she dances while his father plays guitar
And she's suddenly beautiful
And we all want something beautiful
Man, I wish I was beautiful...

Lalalala

Oh, cut up, Maria
Come on, show me some of them Spanish dances
And pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Oh, believe in me, come on, help me believe in anything
'Cause I wanna be someone who believes

Mr. Jones and me tell each other fairytales
And we stare at the beautiful women
"She's looking at you, nananana, she's looking at me"
Standing in this bright light coming through his stereo
When everybody loves you
You should never be lonely

Well, I wanna paint myself a picture
I wanna paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All the beautiful colors are very, very meaningful
Yeah, you know gray?
It's my favorite color
I just get so confused every day
But if I knew Picasso, I would buy myself a gray guitar and play

Mr. Jones and me look into the future
We stare at all the beautiful women
"Man, she's looking at you, man, I don't think so she's looking at me"
Standing in this spotlight
Look at me I, I got myself this gray guitar
Man, when everybody loves me
I hope I never get lonely

Lalalala

Yeah, I wanna be a lion
I know, I know, everybody wants to pass as cats
We all wanna be big, big, big, big, big stars
Yeah, but then we get second thoughts about that
So, believe in me
Man, I don't believe in anything
And I don't wanna be someone to believe
You should not believe in me

'Cause Mr. Jones and me, we just went stumbling through the barrio
We stare at all the beautiful women
"Man, she's perfect for you"
There's got to be someone for me

I wanna be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
Well, man, when everybody loves you
Sometimes that's just about as f___ed up as you can be
Well, can't you hear me cause I'm dreaming
But I did not go outside yesterday
Oh, don't wake me cause I was dreaming
And I might just stay inside again today
'Cause Mr. Jones and me, we don't see each other much anymore...

See also:
JustSomeLyrics
14
14.108
The Jam Private Hell Lyrics
The Jam Little Boy Soldiers Lyrics