I am the entertainer, and I know just where I stand:
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Another serenader, and another long-haired band.
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Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts.
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But I know the game, you will forget my name,
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And I won't be here in another year, if I don't stay on the charts.
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I am the entertainer, and I've had to pay my price.
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The things I did not know at first, I learned by doin' twice.
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Ah, but still they come to haunt me, still they want their say.
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So I've learned to dance with a hand in my pants,
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I let ¡®em rub my neck, & I write 'em a check, & they go their merry way.
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I am the entertainer, I¡¯ve been all around the world.
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I've played all kinds of palaces, and laid all kinds of girls.
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I can't remember faces, I don't remember names.
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Ah, but what the hell, you know it's just as well.
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'Cause after a while and a million miles, it all becomes the same.
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I am the entertainer, and I¡¯d bring to you my songs.
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I'd like to spend a day or two, but I can't stay that long.
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No, I've got to meet expenses, I got to stay in line.
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I gotta get those fees to the agencies
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And I'd love to stay but there's bills to pay, so I just don't have the time.
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I am the entertainer, I come to do my show.
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You've heard my latest record, it's been on the radio.
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Ah, it took me years to write it, they were the best years of my life.
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It was a beautiful song. but it ran too long.
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If you're gonna have a hit, U gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05
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I am the entertainer, the idol of my age.
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I make all kinds of money, when I go on the stage.
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Ah, you've seen me in the papers, I've been in the magazines.
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But if I go cold, I won't get sold.
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I'll get put in the back in the discount rack like another can of beans.
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I am the entertainer, and I know just where I stand:
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Another serenader, and another long-haired band.
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Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts.
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But I know the game, you will forget my name,
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I won't be here in another year, if I don't stay on the charts.
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(Thank you. On the keyboards, from Addison, New Jersey, that¡¯s David Rosenthal !)
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The Entertainer (12 Gardens Live)
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Billy Joel |