[Verse 1]
The gates of the schoolyard are padlocked and chained
To keep all the children in out of the rain
The art teacher's preachin' the virtues of pastel shades
You pay no attention, but it won't hurt your grades

[Chorus]
'Cause you're paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots
They don't have to tell you you don't call the shots
You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"
'Cause paintin' by numbers they know you'll get by
Paintin' by numbers they know you'll get by

[Verse 2]
You take a position in the old man's firm
He signs all the papers, you agree to the terms
They let you run errands and you don't get days off
You take out the garbage and hope it pays off

[Chorus]
'Cause you're paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots
You work from the neck-down, you don't call the shots
You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"
'Cause paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by
Paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by
[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]
You might be in grad school, up at M.I.T
You might be down in the canal zone bein' all that you can be
You might get to thinkin' you're ahead of the game
But when you break it all down, it all comes out the same

[Chorus]
You're paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots
You work from the neck-down as often as not
You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"
'Cause painting by numbers you know you'll get by

You’re paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots
You work from the neck-down, you don’t call the shots
You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"
'Cause paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by
Paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by
Paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by