[Verse 1]
It's not that complicated
No more than a clench of fist –
She want to paint her heart out
She want to tell it as she sees it is
Authority condemns her
They say to paint's a waste without a base
Some bedrock of idea

[Chorus 1]
Painting by numbers doesn't add up
Painting by numbers doesn't add up
It's passionless bed-rest
Work-body that's headless
A head that's without heart –
Painting by numbers doesn't add up to art

[Verse 2]
Her constant vows mean nothing
Not content alone that sells –
The Market Theory beckons
No-one remembers what the story tells;
No-one remembers passion
We just recite the line
That art is fine and fashion costly
[Chorus 2]
Painting by numbers doesn't add up;
Safety in numbers, put your hands up
In mute surrender...
They'll break her or bend her
For the heart on her sleeve
Painting by numbers all the modern world believes

[Bridge]
And the whole thing falls apart
When the movement's more important than the art;
When we're more concerned
With what's been thought than said
This is the moment when the culture's dead

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]
It's not that complicated
It's simple as can be:
She want to paint her heart out
They want a programme for the BBC
Where academic critics can talk of art that's fine
Like holy wine – the Blessed Intellectuals!

[Chorus 2/3]
Painting by numbers doesn't add up;
Safety in numbers, put your hands up
The poets from Venus assume that they've seen us –
They're quick to depart
Painting by numbers doesn't add up to art
[Chorus 2/1]
Painting by numbers doesn't add up;
Safety in numbers, put your hands up
It's passionless bed-rest
Work-body that's headless
A head that's without heart –
Painting by numbers doesn't add up to art

[Instrumental Outro]