"Clocks on the wall

Talk to watches on the wrist

It's the (moments) we relive

It's the moments like this"

- "Momentz" by Gorillaz feat. De La Soul

 

At the ball, all is well

A well of balls all falling into place

A place of high esteem goes up in smoke

And fans the flames of fans the fame does choke

In an internet of things

A set of rings and bells and whistles

Is held as high as Tibetan kings

And as preciously as anonymity

But like all good things, anonymity must be destroyed

 

The breathless press pit awaits a respite

Those thankless crusaders of who's, traitors, and dress fits

Princes mince words with the richest spinsters

Smoke in every direction, middle finger pedestrians

Hocus pocus peddlers poke those with no connection

In hope of mentions

Pretty duchesses and dames with names you can never recall

All gunning for belle of the ball

I flashed my press pass at the gate

And ambled my way to the function

Then the Rebel arrived in a pumpkin

 

The image of beauty and grace with an inscrutable face

Moving in place, no vendettas

Rumors already circling, who was the trendsetter?

Starts good and ends better, soon she was truly embraced

By us in the media

Her buzz was immediate, swift as a tiger

She talked like a charmer, walked like a farmer, tiffed like a miner

She could be a proper-dressed cotter, she may be a wayne

Perhaps a forgotten stepdaughter of Lady Tremaine

She probably won the lottery or Family Feud

Began obsessing of fancy dresses and high-calorie food

So she was actually crude and just knew Prince Charming as a man on the news

But understandably viewed him as an avenue to have her debut

 

About five journalists went after her quickly

Asking her history and if she reads Agatha Christie

Couldn’t come close to cracking her mystery, she just glossed over

They tried to convince, she locked eyes with the Prince, it was all over

None of the other girls stood a chance

She wouldn’t spare them a glance

Two lover birds above the world in a trance

Soon the lone black swan was the talk of all of France

It seemed like the whole planet had just stopped to watch her dance

Suddenly, a buzz on her wrist

Something’s amiss

She stopped, looked at the clock as it struck 11:59

She pecked him a kiss and then she said “Goodbye”

Fantasy collided with reality and shattered

They held and they flattered, they minded and mattered

Never mind, no matter

 

We all lived in that moment for three weeks

The best thing that ever happened to gossip

The dapper Prince lost it

Soon he seeks to find the Rebel and take her

Thus, he became the Enemy, he’ll never forsake her

The mascot of the workers and the aristocrats alike

An empowered young girl might have her picture on her bike

But the enemy of a novelty is epiphany

And when the prince started knocking on doors

That antipathy predictably faded

The message we took away was “It could’ve been you!”

That’s why every woman in town tried on that same shoe

But on the other foot, if the shoe fits, what then?

Would a moment so precious live forever or have to end?

 

In this same sphere of in-the-know’s it became clear

That the rebel was Cinderella, she had that blonde hair and stayed here

The rumors were true, and so the boom in the news was over

We all took vacations

The wedding was a calmer, more somber occasion

The Rebel was on every front page, but no rebel at all

No journalist firmament for the permanent belle of the ball

In the end, we voted her a gold digger who failed to speak up

Moments are forever, but you’ve got to keep up