When I Paint My Masterpiece Songtext
von Grateful Dead

Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble,
Ancient footprints are everywhere.
You can almost think that you′re seein' double
On a cold dark night on the Spanish Stairs.

Got to hurry on back to my hotel room,
Where I′ve got me a date with Botticelli's niece.
She promised that she'd be right there with me
When I paint my masterpiece.

Oh, the hours I′ve spent inside the Coliseum,
Dodging lions and wastin′ time.
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle,
I could hardly stand to see 'em,
Yes, it sure has been a long hard climb.


Train wheels runnin′ thru the back of my memory,
When I ran on the hilltop following a pack of wild geese.
Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a rhapsody,
When I paint my masterpiece.

Sailin' ′round the world in a dirty gondola,
Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola!

I left Rome and landed in Brussels,
On a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried.
Clergymen in uniform and young girls pullin' muscles,
Everyone was there to greet me when I stepped inside.

Newspapermen eating candy
Had to be held down by big police.
Someday, everything is gonna be diff′rent
When I paint my masterpiece.