Elliott Smith
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble
Ancient footprints are everywhere
You can almost think that you're seeing 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 wasting time
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle
I could hardly stand to see them
Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb
Train wheels running through the back of my memory
When I ran on the hilltop following a pack of wild geese
Someday, everything is going to be smooth like a rhapsody
When I paint my masterpiece
Sailing around the world in a dirty gondola
Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola!
I left Rome and landed in Brussels
In a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried
Clergymen in uniform and young girls pulling muscles
Everyone was there to greet me when I stepped inside
Newspapermen eating candy
When I had to be held down by big police
Someday, everything is going to be different
When I paint my masterpiece