Death of the Ghostwriter

[Verse 1]
The ghostwriter sits at home
He's been paid for his trouble
And he’s laughing at the light
That shines on fame
Nothing can be shared
He's no one's equal or double
Money talks
But no one ever says his name

[Verse 2]
She signs every book
With a flourish of her pen
And some red ink from a well
He knew she stole
Now she’s on Kaleidoscope
And someone says she's Milton
She didn't even read the book
Or so he's told (So he's told)

[Chorus]
He's riding on a ghost train to a ghost town
A your-check-is-coming-in-the-post town
Once you get in, you cannot turn around
The ghostwriter's found

[Verse 3]
So he sits at home
Where he writes his little novel
About the wicked winning out
Without remorse
They find him half-alive
In his half-house that's half a hovel
His final words are
"Tell her, we are now divorced, of course"

[Verse 4]
I said, hey you sad-sack hacks
And all you back-room boys beware
They’ll buy you up
Like diamonds, like fur
Then they’ll spit you out like coffee grounds
That fell right through the filter
They'll say, "The book could never have been written without her"

[Chorus]
She’s riding on a ghost train to a ghost town
It's of-our-lives-we-made-less-than-the-most town
Once you get in, you cannot turn around
She has found

[Verse 5]
The ghost of the ghostwriter's
Noticed by no one
It was his choice
And he's paying for it now
Deadlines and death taxes
Are all that’s waiting for us
Wake up and sell the coffee
Milk the profits, kill the cow
It's coming on 2000, lads
Anything's allowed (And how)

[Chorus]
We're riding on a ghost train to a ghost town
Your-life-is-turning-into-toast town
Once you get in, you cannot turn around
I have found