Well, your CD collection
Looks shiny and costly,
How much did you pay for your
Bad moto-goozie?
And how much did you spend
On your black leather jacket?
Is it you, or your parents
In this income-tax bracket?

Now tickets to concerts,
And drinking at clubs,
Sometimes for music
That you haven't even heard of.
And how much did you pay for
Your rock'n'roll t-shirt,
That proves you were there
That you heard of them first?

Now how do you afford your
Rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your
Rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your
Rock'n'roll lifestyle?

How much did you pay
For the chunk of his guitar,
The one he ruthlessly smashed
At the end of the show?
And how much will he pay
For a brand-new guitar,
One which he'll ruthlessly smash,
At the end of another show?
And how long will the workers
Keep building him new ones?
As long as their soda cans are
Red, white, and blue ones.
And how long will the workers
Keep building him new ones?
As long as their soda cans are
Red, white, and blue ones.

Aging black leather,
And hospital bills,
And tatoo removal,
And dozens of pills.
Your liver pays dearly, now,
For youthful magic moments,
But rock on completely, with
Some brand-new components.

Now how do you afford your
Rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your
Rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your
Rock'n'roll lifestyle?

Excess ain't rebellion,
You're drinkin' what they're selling.
Your self-destruction doesn't hurt them.
Your chaos won't convert them.
They're so happy to rebuild it.
You'll never really kill it.
Excess ain't rebellion,
You're drinkin' what they're selling.
Excess ain't rebellion,
You're drinkin', you're drinkin'
Aw, yeah, you're drinkin' what they selling.