[Chorus]
Paint me a picture of the old homestead
Of a country churchyard where my parents lie
Paint me a picture of the house where we once lived
Cause it stands like a mansion on the hillside

[Verse 1]
Well, I was just a farmer's son
Who left the hills like everyone
Was doing that year when we finished school
Went to the city and looked for work
With a porridge emblem on my shirt
No one was gonna take me for a fool
Well woman I lost a hundred jobs
It seemed no matter what I got
There was no kind of work that suited me
And before I knew it the years had passed
I saw my face it the window glass
Just another whino on the street

[Chorus]
Paint me a picture of the old homestead
Of a country churchyard where my parents lie
Paint me a picture of the house where we once lived
Cause it stands like a mansion on the hillside
[Verse 2]
One day when I was on the street
Begging poor just so a boy could eat
I just bought a port of cheap Chambly
I saw a man with a box of chalk
Drawing pictures on the grey sidewalk
With a little sign that said donations please
Well as that man looked up and me
Something weird come over me
Yes, I could swear it was someone I once knew
Well, as it turned out we were high school chums
Now here we were, just drunken bums
Now ain't it sweet what thirty years can do

[Chorus]
And I said paint me a picture of the old homestead
Of a country churchyard where my parents lie
Paint me a picture of the house where we once lived
Cause it stands like a mansion on the hillside

[Verse 3]
We went, we drank that jug of wine
We talked about the good old times
Our heads were full of booze and memories
Well then the old man said I got to go
But I dragged his sleeve and whispered low
Before you go one thing please do for me
[Chorus]
That is paint me a picture of the old homestead
Of a country churchyard where my parents lie
Paint me a picture of the house where we once lived
Cause it stands like a mansion on the hillside
Yes it stands like a mansion on the hillside