Well I've been way so long
   I'm too numb to dislike it
   And LA'S one big hit song
   I never learned to fight it
   Dear Caroline
   It never meant to go this far
   It started out to be a game
   I never meant to be a star.
  
   And everybody smiles
   But their eyes stare out so empty
   From a face they scrub with Dial
   And the words that spill so fancy
   Dear Caroline
   I thought my songs would change the world
   Instead of slowly getting rich
   Off the emotions of young girls.
  
   Chorus:
   And what really makes me laugh
   Is that nothing's really changed
   Since that day I left you years ago
   To find myself a name
   And what really makes me cry
   Is that it's only an illusion
   And all that success means
   Is just money and confusion.
  
   I've been told you settled down
   Found yourself a family
   I'll send my latest record down
   The critics tell me that it's happening
   Dear Caroline
   There's nothing really left to say
   I hope you still remember me
   After the songs all fade away.
  
   Repeat Chorus