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)

(Chor