If my heart could paint a picture of my love for you
You’d find my palette flying through the air
And landing in a boggy swamp somewhere
It was thrown in desperation of pigmented imitation
I could waste a thousand Derwents on your eyes alone
A million beetles long to line your lips
Your hair is lost in soft acrylic drips
Even trying to catch the magic of your voice in gouache is tragic
And the falling stars and wells ignore my wish
Dali thinks I should involve a fish
I watch my still life dance around the frame
As my pastel masterpiece bursts into flame
And now my studio is like a shrine to you
The pot plants in the window shun the rain
They’re watered by my tears of joy and pain
As the brokers try to sell you, I will wash my hands and tell you
If my heart could paint a picture ...
© Mal Webb 1989
This song is inspired by Michael Franks' lovely metaphoric love songs. It wasn't written for anyone... just hopeful! Musically, it's inspried by Clifford Brown's Joy Spring and it's key shifting AABA form (F, F#, G, F). I went with F, G, A Eb so the A sections always rise to the next. It's very old school big bandy style. The arrangement on the recording plays with a mixture of muted and unmuted strings and brass. The last note of highest violin part required me to finger the note while Kylie slid the harmonic up the neck... I held back from giving myself a violin credit on the album!