[Verse 1]
Eighty years, an old lady now
Sitting on the front porch
Watching the clouds roll by
They remind her of her lover, how he left her
And of times long ago when she used to color carelessly
Painted his portrait a thousand times or maybe just his smile
And her and her canvas would follow him wherever they would go
'Cause they were painters and they were painting themselves
A lovely world

[Verse 2]
Oil-streaked daisies covеred the living room walls
He put watеr-colored roses in her hair
He said, "Love, I love you
I wanna give you the mountains, the sunshine
The sunset too
I just want to give you a world as beautiful as you are to me
'Cause I'm a painter and I want to paint you
A lovely world"

[Verse 3]
So they sat down and made a drawing of their love
They made it an art to live by
They painted every passion, every home
Created every beautiful child
In winter, they were weavers of warmth
In summer, they were carpenters of love
They thought blueprints were too sad so they made them yellow
And they were painters and they had painted themselves
A lovely world

[Verse 4]
Until one day, the rains fell as thick as black oil
And in her heart, she knew something was wrong
She went running through the orchard screaming
"No God, don't take him from me"
And by the time she got there, she feared
He already had gone
She got to where he lay
Water-colored roses in his hands for her
She threw them down, screaming
"Damn you, man, don't leave me with nothing left behind
But these cold paintings, these cold portraits to remind me"

[Bridge]
He said
"Love, I only leave a little, but try to understand
I put my soul in this life we've created with these four hands
Love, I leave, but only a little, this world holds me still
My body may die now, but these paintings are real"
La-di-da, la-di-da
La-di-da-di-da

[Verse 5]
So many seasons came and many seasons went
And many times she saw her love's face
Watering the flowers, talking to the trees
And singing to his children
And when the winds blew, she knew he was listening
And oh, how he seemed to laugh along
And how he seemed to hold her when she was crying
'Cause they were painters and they had painted themselves
A lovely world

[Verse 6]
Eighty years, an old lady now
Sitting on the front porch
Watching the clouds roll by
They remind her of her lover, how he left her, ah
And of times long ago when she used to color carelessly
Painted his portrait a thousand times or maybe just his smile
And her and her canvas would follow him wherever they would go
Yes, her and her canvas still follow
'Cause they are painters and they are painting themselves
A lovely
Yes, they are painters and they are painting themselves
A lovely world