Nothing is real in cardboard California   Just waking up brings you down   One lousy deal is cardboard California   You just can't survive in a make believe town      Lost in a city of little tin Gods   Cold plastic people with phoney facades   How can you win when you look at the odds?   You're running down a one way street      Nobody cares if you survive   Sometimes you beg or you don't eat   You gotta fight to stay alive   Hey, you're never gonna get away      Where 's the world you used to know?   Where did all the good times go?   Look around, your hopes and dreams are gone   But like a fool you still keep hanging on music      Come and be a movie star   Come and drive a fancy car   Come and see what you really are   Look in the mirror, mirrors don't lie      You're getting older, your time's past you by   You lost your shot to some younger guy   You're running down a one way street   Nobody cares if you survive      Sometimes you beg or you don't eat   You gotta fight to stay alive   Hey, you're never gonna get away      Nothing is real in cardboard California   Just waking up brings you down   One lousy deal is cardboard California   You just can't survive in a make believe town