Victory LapTotal Recall

They ask me if I still get nervous Man, the only thing I'm nervous about is gettin' bored Yeah.. The victory lap '71, '72, just a victory tour Another year, another trophy, what's this really for? The challengers line up with fire in they soul But I'm playing a different game, I'm just takin' my toll Paris, then Essen, Germany's might Same story, different city, bathed in the same stage light Felt like I was playin' chess while they were playin' checkers I was readin' 'em like books while they were lookin' at the records They're trainin' for a title, I'm trainin' for a legend The gap just gets wider, that's the message that I'm sendin This ain't a competition, it's a coronation march I'm just adding layers of gold paint up on this perfect arch Another year, another win, the script is gettin' old Another chapter in the story that's already been told Watchin' rivals rise and fall.. ain't no one left to meet Then the kid from Brooklyn shows up, bigger than a damn house Lou Ferrigno, a new lion, challengin' the cat and mouse The press is gettin' hyped up"Is the champion's run done?""Has the old king gotten lazy, sittin' in the sun?" They're filmin' Pumping Iron, tryin' to build the narrative high The young bull versus the old bull, the question in their eye But they don't see the mental game, the psychological art The simple, quiet confidence that tears a foe apart I played the role, I fanned the flames, I gave 'em all a show But deep inside the certainty continued just to grow The show was in Pretoria, the '75 campaign Just another day at the office, standin' in the rain of praise Another year, another win, the script is gettin' old Another chapter in the story that's already been told Watchin' rivals rise and fall.. ain't no one left to meet Six times I stood up on that stage, and held the Sandow high 'Til the hunger for that win was just a whisper, not a cry There's no more worlds in this small world for me to go and seize The challenge isn't in the gym no more, it's floatin' on the breeze From somewhere else.. somewhere bigger.. somewhere new to climb A different kind of pedestal, a different sense of time I looked around.. No one left So I retired The king of this mountain Time to go find another one.