her name was mis-spelled on the marquee
but she was the one that we waited to see
billy and i, we spent all our dough
for two broken seats in the very back row
words were a lie, tears were a fake
she stepped on the back of her dress by mistake
and she couldn't make the pistol go off
the silence was deadly, til somebody coughed
goodbye betty-jean
you left town, another fat philistine
in your big, sad, american machine
the drama was high, and betty was too
she blew all her lines and she missed all her cues
she came to the edge of the stage in her slip
and said a few words that were not in the script
goodbye betty-jean
you left town, another fat philistine
in your big, sad, american machine
it's a small town and it's just a matinee
this white-trash won't know the difference anyway
but billy cried in the men's latrine
'cause stars are few and far between
stars are few and far between