Lyrics When I Paint My Masterpiece - Emmylou Harris

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 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 a pretty young boy from Greece
He promised, he’d be there with me
When I paint my masterpiece
Oh, the hours we’ve spent inside the Coliseum
Dodgin' lions and wastin' time
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I can hardly stand to see 'em
Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb
Train wheels runnin' through the back of my memory
When I ran on the hilltop following a pack of wild geese
Someday, everything’s 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
Well, 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 different
When I paint my masterpiece
Yes, someday, everything is gonna be different
When I paint my masterpiece