When I Paint My Masterpiece by The Avett Brothers

Bob Dylan Cover

"When I Paint My Masterpiece" is a 1971 song written by Bob Dylan. It was first released by The Band, who covered the song on their album Cahoots. Dylan himself recorded the song in the March 1971 sessions that were produced by Leon Russell. From these sessions came the "Watching the River Flow" single and this track. Both appeared later in the year on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. (An outtake of the song, from the same March sessions, was released in 2013 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971).)

Dylan and The Band performed the song together live, in the early hours of January 1, 1972, at a New Year's Eve concert by The Band; a recording was released as a bonus track on the 2001 CD reissue of The Band's live album Rock of Ages.

The Band performed the song at the 1992 Bob Dylan tribute concert. The recording is on the CD of the event.

Lyrics
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 pretty little girl from Greece
She promised she'd be there with me
When I paint my masterpiece.
Oh, the hours we'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!
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.
But someday, everything is gonna be different
When I paint that masterpiece.
Songwriters: Bob Dylan / Dylan Bob

Song

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Performed by

The Avett Brothers

Originally by

Bob Dylan

Video title

Avett Brothers "When I Paint My Masterpiece" Schwab Amp, Bend, OR 07.21.17 #DeadCoversProject

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