Billionaire

When you hear the word "billionaire," who comes to mind?

I've got a billion dollars
I own the night
I own the skyline
Black tie and smiles
But inside I'm raging

Like I said in a previous entry on "Secret Identity," one of my goals is to write a song based on a very famous licensed character, make enough money to put my kids through college and not get sued.

Look behind the mask
There's a little boy
In a dark back alley
Two pools of blood
In the pale moonlight

Armored car and armored vest
I've got my own symbol across my chest
And I don't need a gun
To get justice done...

I've grown up with comic book culture. I don't claim to be a huge fan of any one character or title. As a kid I enjoyed the feel of the pulpy pages and exploring the issue from cover to cover: Ads promising boxes of toy soldiers for less than $2; pages showing transistor radios, acoustic guitars and other items that could be earned by selling subscriptions to stationery; way too serious letters to the editor; the always puzzling pages of T-shirts with adult messages I didn't fully understand and, my personal favorite, a solid page of cheap novelties. Oh, and sea monkeys.

At times the actual stories seemed almost secondary. Here's where I managed to borrow a few lines from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots:

Got a thousand bruises
No regrets 
And no excuses
I discipline my body
Got to be strong to fight them

Most of the time superheroes fought supervillains or even other superheroes for complicated reasons. But I always felt like the best stories involved a hero coming to the aid of the defenseless against seemingly impossible odds.

I watch over the city
Hear the screams
Of innocent victims
I climb, I glide, I brawl
Driven by the need to save them all

If I had a secret life, I think I would always be on the verge of giving myself away. Especially if I met someone who seemed genuine, who seemed like she might have already guessed.

Met her at a party
Red hair, black velvet
I wondered as we were dancing
Could she understand?

Met her at a party
Black hair, red velvet
I wondered as we were dancing
Did she understand?

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the song.