Background and Writing
The basic concept of the song is the global obsession with fame and the way that celebrities are not appreciative of how fortunate they are.
The song has references to a number of celebrities within the lyrics. Johnnie Cochran, a famous attorney who represented (amongst others) stars such as O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown. He is mentioned in the lines "Well did you know when you're famous you could kill your wife/ and there's no such thing as 25 to life/ as long as you got the cash to pay for Cochran". A former mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry – who was convicted on drug charges – is also mentioned in the lyrics: "and did you know if you were caught and you were smokin' crack/ McDonald's wouldn't even wanna take you back/ you could always just run for mayor of D.C."
Read more about this topic: Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous (song)
Famous quotes containing the words background and, background and/or writing:
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The writing career is not a romantic one. The writer’s life may be colorful, but his work itself is rather drab.”
—Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958)