born to hippie parents
given a different name
which he caught much flak for
the world was his oyster
and hollywood the clam
when he grew up

he joined a hippie band
he was directed by gus van sant
we'd like to think he'd have joined the smartipantz
co-starred with flea and keanu

we didn't know jackie O
she was one of the people that we did not know
nor did we care about her hair
her pillbox hat and her savoir faire
but still we thought we knew
maybe you did too

river phoenix
river phoenix
ian curtis
and river phoenix
and me and you

né a des parents hippies
donné un drole de nom
on lui a beaucoup taquiné
le monde etait sa mere
hollywood la pierre
il n'etait pas pour cette terre
dirigé par gus van sant
on aime penser qu'il aurait chanté avec les smartipantz
co-star avec flea et keanu

(site maintainer's note : the last verse is a french translation of the first one)