Romanovsky & Phillips Paint By Numbers (song For Frances)
A teenage girl makes headlines In the Seattle news For questioning religion In nineteen thirty-two Frances Farmer was her name She had ideas in her head They tried to stop her crazy dreams She never heard a word they said (They told her) Chors: Paint by numbers Color in the lines March in rhythm Never out of time Paint by numbers Walk in single file Learn the system Conform to the style To Hollywood she travelled To be an actress there And everyone was dazzled By her beauty and her flair But Frances wasn't satisfied With all the money and the fame They tried to teach her all the rules But she refused to play the game (Didn't want to) (Chorus) But that's not how Picasso painted That's not how Beethoven played They rearranged tradition And history was made That's not how Picasso painted That's not how Beethoven played They dared to be different And did it their own way They locked away poor Frances Told her she was insane And shocked her with the treatments That slowly killed her brain But her spirit lives with me And that is why I sing this song 'Cause when a brilliant mind is put away My senses tell me something's wrong (When they tell you to) (Chorus)
