When I Paint My Masterpiece lyrics

by Bob Dylan

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.