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 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
when i had to be held down by big police
someday, everything is gonna be diff'rent
when i paint my masterpiece