1. A system for superimposing a lyrics overlay image on a video image, comprising: a first input circuit for receiving a first data stream of symbols, said symbols encoding pixels of said lyrics overlay image by reference to a color map; a second input circuit for receiving a second data stream including color intensity values of pixels of said video image; a decoding circuit receiving said first data stream of symbols and providing a third data stream including color intensity values of said pixels of said lyrics overlay image, said color intensity values in said third data stream corresponding to color intensity values corresponding to colors specified in said color map; an image blending circuit receiving said second and third data streams, said image blending circuit providing a fourth data stream including weighted sums of color intensity values in said second and third data streams.