Movies were movies when you paid a dime to escape Cheerin' the hero and hissing the man in the cape Romance and action and thrills "Partner, there's gold in them hills" Movies were movies when during the titles you'd know You'd get a happy ending Dozens of blundering cops in a thundering chase Getting a bang out of lemon meringue in the face Bandits attacking a train One little tramp with a cane Movies were movies were movies, when I ran the show! Movies were movies when Pauline was tied to the track After she trudged through the ice with a babe on her back Girls at the seashore would stand All in a row in the sand Rolling their stockings an inch and a quarter below The line of decency And Swanson and Keaton and Dressler and William S. Hart No one pretended that what we were doing was art We had some guts and some luck But we were just making a buck Movies were movies were movies, when I ran the show! ♪ And Swanson and Keaton and Dressler and William S. Hart No one pretended that what we were doing was art We had some guts and some luck But we were just makin' a buck Movies were movies were movies When I ran the show!