They'll tell you Jack Kerouac drank his life away
Squandered his promise mistreated his wife
Copped to the appetites more than his work
'Til his fear and his fame bred a self-destructive jerk
But he burned so bright
Through the long cold night
Look at the page and consider the debt
Every beatnik at heart is on the road yet
'Cause he burned so bright
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
Chet Baker Chet Baker the angel of cool
Who most of his life played the muse for a fool
A user and a loser and a junkie as well
With a face and a fine woman with stories to tell
'Cause he burned so bright
Through the long cold night
Blow on his horn and the reverie starts
Sing a line of pure corn and he's breaking our hearts
'Cause he burned so bright
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
How can the rest of us figure out how we should be?
When all of these heroes can sometimes be weaker than we are
Picasso and Pollack showed little restraint
And all indications are Miles was no saint
And who's gonna question Bukowski the drunk
How high had he flown and how low had he sunk
When he burned so bright
Through the long cold night
If he knew would he tell you but why should you care
When the words in his work were already there
'Cause he burned so bright
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules
By the bad boy rules