All the Rowboats

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 catch a sculpture
Marble, gold, and soft as satin
But the most special
Are the most lonely
God, I pity the violins
In glass coffins
They keep coughing
They’ve forgotten, forgotten how to sing, how to sing
La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la
How…
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 you 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 glass coffins
They keep coughing
They’ve forgotten, forgotten how to sing
They will hang 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 you 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