[Verse 1]
tyrannosaurus rex was the king of the mound
all day that fella was struttin' around
then he turned and said what's that sound?
the place went quiet, the pterodactyls were downed
sixty million years later you look under the ground
that's where our hero's old bones are found

napoleon bonaparte conquered a few
till his winning streak snapped in russia & waterloo
general custer he was doin' fine too
till he had a little bit of a run-in with the sioux
so while you're standin' there admiring the view
keep in the back of your mind that it could happen to you

[[here on the morning of september second, the drama of surrender reached its climax. in a ceremony that lasted only twenty minutes, the fate of japan was sealed forever.]]

[Chorus]
you might be riding high livin' a life you'd choose
not a care in the world but everything to lose
walk a mile in another man's shoes
you'll learn what it's like to be singin' the blues
one minute you're drunk with power to abuse
but you could count ten seconds and find out you're old news

[Refrain]
[[it was panic]]
old news
[[sixteen and a half million shares of stock sold in a single day]]

[Verse 2]
no matter how smoothly you think it'll sail
have your fun but keep an eye on your tail
you may be at the top, but the second you fail
they could seize your possessions and lock you in jail
but maybe that coffin's still missing a nail
so think about this before you go down that trail

[[the kidnapping of little charles a. lindbergh junior was a tragedy, not only to colonel and mrs. lindbergh but to the nation]]

[[in this house, dillinger was found and arrested]]

take your fortune for granted and you'll be filled with regret
a payback target karma's waitin' to get
so pause for a moment to reflect on one thing
the ephemeral nature of your status as king
the one you laugh at while you're a rising star of the town
is the first face you'll see on your way back down

[[have you no sense of decency, sir?]]
[[well, i'm not a crook]]

[Chorus]

[Refrain]
[[did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance? yes]]
old news

[Verse 3 / Bridge]
everything is ninety-nine percent but there's one tiny little issue
it could take a nosedive
it could go bust, sour, south, or sideways
crater, bomb, implode, blow up in your face
go off the rails like a runaway train
spiral out of control or circle down the drain

[[bernie madoff, you could argue, ruined scores and scores of people, but in your interview, he seems to suggest they shoulda known better]]

[[gary shephard reports on this weekend's bloody action in beijing]]

[[police report other beatings and scattered looting across the city, all in reaction to the verdict]]

[[activists, lawyers, and human rights organizations have described the first year of sisi's term in office as a return to egypt's dark days of oppression]]

[Chorus]

[Refrain]
old news
[[two fellas in the soviet union were walkin' down the street and the one of 'em says, 'have we really achieved full communism? is this it? is this now full communism?' and the other one said, 'oh hell no, things are gonna get a lot worse!']]
old news . . .
old news . . .
old news. . .