The Last Guitar Hero [Dennis DeYoung]

The Last Guitar Hero
Written by Dennis DeYoung and Jim Peterik
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung

The music plays for free tonight
From the corporate parasites
Living off the blood of the creators
The player stands there all alone
Works his fingers to the bone

Everywhere he looks nothing but traitors
Whatever skill that you posses
The new machine makes you second best
Their working hard you know it's true
To find an app to replace you

You're the last guitar hero
With the tools of your trade
The last guitar hero
Genuine hand made
The last guitar hero

With your big old Marshall stack
Gone like a record store
And never coming back
Never coming back

They say that change is here to stay
Hell that's what they said yesterday
But who can tell which way this wind is blowing
Were travelling past the speed of light
We're nothing more than bits and bytes

Does anybody know where this things going
Is there a place for you and me
Beyond the lure of technology
They're counting beans you know it's true
To steal that job away from you

The last guitar hero
With the tools of your trade
The last guitar hero
Angry and afraid
The last guitar hero

All cool and dressed in black
Gone like a dinosaur
And never coming back
And never coming back

The last guitar hero
Why should anybody care
The last guitar hero
With pretty pop stars everywhere

The last guitar hero
With his beat up Fender Strat
Gone like a record store
And never coming back

The last guitar hero
As good as you can get
The last guitar hero
Caught up in the net

The last guitar hero
Well what else can ya do
You're the last guitar hero

When they come for you 

Interpretation

It seems that gone are the days of guitar heroes with Marshall stacks behind them on stage to entertain the crowd, replaced by singers relying on Auto-tune for pitch and music that is pre-recorded ensuring the sound is perfect. Just like record stores have been replaced by on-line streaming, technology has transformed the music business, taking away much of the creative hand-made feel of music in past generations.