I'm Going To Be A Teenage Idol

Album: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)
Play Video
  • Well there's slim times when my words won't rhyme
    And the hills I face are a long hard climb
    I just sit cross legged with my old guitar
    It kind of makes me feel like a rock and roll star

    Well it makes me laugh Lord it makes me cry
    And I think for once let me just get high
    Let me get electric put a silk suit on
    Turn my old guitar into a tommy gun

    And root-toot-shoot myself to fame
    Every kid alive gonna know my name
    An overnight phenomenon like there's never been
    A motivated supersonic king of the scene

    I'll be a teenage idol, just give me a break
    I'm gonna be a teenage idol no matter how long it takes
    You can't imagine what it means to me
    I'm gonna grab myself a place in history
    A teenage idol that's what I'm gonna be

    Well life is short and the world is rough
    And if you're gonna boogie boy you got to be tough
    Nobody knows if I'm dead or alive
    I just drink myself to sleep each night

    And so I pray to the teenage god of rock
    If I make it big let me stay on top
    You got to cut me loose from this one room dive
    Put me on the ladder keep this boy alive Writer/s: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 4

  • Jeffrey from New YorkYes I remember the video from a Elton John concert at Madison Square Garden in 1974 I believe it was the Thanksgiving show that John Lennon played 3 songs with Elton
  • Scott Schultz from Tucson, ArizonaWhen I saw Elton John at the Forum back in the 70's, an animated video of Teenage Idol was shown before the concert. Does anyone else remember it? I've tried to find it but to no avail.
  • Ken from Louisville, KyBoth Bernie and Elton say the inspiration of this song was Marc Boland - England's "teenage idol" of the early 1970's.
  • Kevin from Reading , PaA good example of the kind of quality album tracks Elton managed to produce in his early to mid 70s heyday. Like many of them, it probably could have been a hit single.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Grunge Bands Quiz

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.