Painting By Numbers

The gates of the schoolyard are padlocked and chained

To keep all the children in out of the rain

The art teacher's preachin' the virtues of pastel shades

You pay no attention, but it won't hurt your grades

'Cause you're paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots

They don't have to tell you you don't call the shots

You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"

'Cause paintin' by numbers they know you'll get by

Paintin' by numbers they know you'll get by

You take a position in the old man's firm

He signs all the papers, you agree to the terms

They let you run errands and you don't get days off

You take out the garbage and hope it pays off

'Cause you're paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots

You work from the neck-down, you don't call the shots

You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"

'Cause paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by

Paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by

You might be in grad school, up at M.I.T

You might be down in the canal zone bein' all that you can be

You might get to thinkin' you're ahead of the game

But when you break it all down, it all comes out the same

You're paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots

You work from the neck-down as often as not

You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"

'Cause painting by numbers you know you'll get by

You’re paintin' by numbers, connectin' the dots

You work from the neck-down, you don’t call the shots

You jump when they say, "Jump!" and you don't ask, "How high?"

'Cause paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by

Paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by

Paintin' by numbers you know you'll get by