All the rowboats in the paintings
They keep trying to row away
And the captains' worried faces
Stay contorted and staring at the waves
They'll keep hanging in their gold frames
For forever, forever and a day
All the rowboats in the oil paintings
They keep trying to row away, row away
Hear them whispering, French and German
Dutch, Italian, and Latin
When no one's looking, I touch a sculpture
Marble, cold, and soft as satin
But the most special are the most lonely
God, I pity the violins
In gla** coffins, they keep coughing
They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing, how to sing
La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, la
First there's lights out, then there's lock-up
Masterpieces serving maximum sentences
It's their own fault, for being timeless
There's a price to pay and a consequence
All the galleries, the museums
Here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs
They're just public mausoleums
The living dead fill every room
But the most special are the most lonely
God, I pity the violins
In gla** coffins, they keep coughing
They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing
They will stay there in their gold frames
For forever, forever and a day
All the rowboats in the oil paintings
They keep trying to row away, row away
First there's lights out, then there's lock-up
Masterpieces serving maximum sentences
It's their own fault, for being timeless
There's a price to pay and a consequence
All the galleries, the museums
They will stay there forever and a day
All the rowboats in the oil paintings
They keep trying to row away, row away
All the rowboats in the oil paintings
They keep trying to row away, row away