When I Paint My Masterpiece

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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 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 wastin' time.
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could 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 is 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!

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 diff'rent
When I paint my masterpiece.

When I Paint My Masterpiece (unreleased cover)
Written byBob Dylan
Performed byElvis Costello
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris & The Imposters
Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Larry Campbell & The Imposters
Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

First known performance:
August 9, 1996, Washington, DC - snippet in medley with Peace, Love And Understanding
July 17, 2005, Atlanta, GA - first full performance
Last known performance:
October 2, 2012, Irvine, CA
     (19 known performances, 1 as a snippet)


Category:Unreleased covers1999-00-00 live.jpg


Recordings by other artists

 Artist  Year  Release  Links
The Band  1971 Cahoots AllMusicWikipediaAmazon
Bob Dylan  1971 Greatest Hits Vol. II AllMusicWikipediaAmazon
Emmylou Harris  1996 Portraits AllMusic
Grateful Dead  1996 Dozin' At The Knick Wikipedia

Internal links

External links