Bowie, David - Pablo Picasso Lyrics






Swinging on the back porch
Jumping off a big log
Pablo's feeling better now
Hanging by his finger nails

Swinging on the back porch
Jumping off a big log
Pablo's feeling better now
Hanging by his finger nails

Well some people try to pick up girls
They get called assholes
This never happened to Pablo Picasso

The girls would turn the colour of a juicy avocado
When he would drive down their street in his El Dorado

He could walk down your street
Girls could not resist his stare
So Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole
Not like you
Wow!

Swinging on the back porch
Jumping off a big log
Pablo's feeling better now
Hanging by his finger nails

Swinging on the back porch
Jumping off a big log
Pablo's feeling better now
Hanging by his finger nails

He could walk down your street
And girls could not resist his stare
Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole

Well the girls would turn the colour of a juicy avocado
When he would drive down their street in his El Dorado

Well he was only 5'3"
But girls could not resist his stare
Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole
Not in New York
Wow!

Swinging on the back porch
Jumping off a big log
Pablo's feeling better now
Hanging by his finger nails

Swinging on the back porch
Jumping off a big log
Pablo's feeling better now
Hanging by his picture nails





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Bowie, David Pablo Picasso Comments
  1. U.... ....

    Damn... all these years I'd only heard the Modern Lovers and Burning Sensations versions of this

  2. P.... D....

    interesting version - did Bowie write this song?

    P.... D....

    I always thought it was the Modern Lovers

  3. D.... W....

    Damn, he really nailed this performance. If this version were in the normal album, it wouldn't even stand out quality-wise.

  4. A.... A....

    Thank you David

  5. j.... ....

    From "Area To Tour 2002"

  6. M.... P....

    A Modern Lovers song. I know the great John Cale version best. It can also be heard in the zany film REPO MAN. An LA punk band play it. I'm not sure which one.

  7. s.... N....

    He puts smile on my face everytime I see him!

  8. J.... B....

    Hohmigad! This man is sooooo handsome. 💘
    Love u 4evr my Starman.

  9. S.... J....

    Bowie the ultimate Artist!!

  10. A.... L....

    killer shit. Like Pablo Picasso, there are a precious few artists who have reputations earned by long-term-consistency of work...almost without peer... giving a status virtually immune to critcism.. ...so please don''t mistake this as me believing I could "critiicize" Bowie... I'm sure he was somehoiw moved by this song and had enough respect for Jonathan Richman to cover it exactly as he felt it. Although I think you'll find the spirit, unassuming (but deceptively powerful) disposition, swagger, and slow-motion-bitch-slap, of this song... ...the spirit which probably compelled Bowie to cover it in the first place.. ...still lives firmly in the original version of this often-overlooked, tour de force... from one of the original bands giving birth to what would become (from Boston to) New York City's legendary "Punk Rock" / "Art Rock" scene.

    if anyone would care to:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc2iLAubras

    lol:
    "Well he was only 5'3"
    But girls could not resist his stare
    Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole...
    .....not in New York":

    J. Richman - written ca. 1970

    a final bit of R&R trivia... musicians from the band who wrote & recorded "Pablo Picasso" ("The Modern Lovers"), were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.... as they'd later become members of "The Talking Heads" and "The Cars".

  11. P.... C....

    David is beautiful and legendary at 360 degrees 😍

  12. L.... C....

    When some people try
    to pick up girls
    They fuck them in assholes
    But this never happened
    to Pablo Picasso

  13. s.... l....

    I want blond hair like Bowie...

  14. A.... A....

    ولكم في القصاص حياة يا اولي الالباب

  15. A.... L....

    God he is simply fabulous

  16. F.... ....

    Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole 🤪

  17. A.... A....

    الحضاره الإسلاميه

  18. N.... J....

    Youtube comment, less depressing then hair.
    And
    Mandeville Sisters really?

  19. S.... S....

    Love him and this cover too. 😍😍😍

  20. R.... D....

    Iman is the luckiest woman on the planet!!!!!

  21. T.... ....

    Okay, everyone loves David of course, but I'm just going to add some appreciation for Gail Ann Dorsey and her badass skirt and boots.

  22. i.... ....

    homeless black barbie on bass.

  23. �.... ....

    Goodbye hero..🌷🌷🌷🍺🍻

  24. D.... Q....

    Love this version

  25. N.... C....

    even 3 years later in 2019 I'm still in mourning for the loss of this amazing soul...love you Starman

    N.... C....

    Nechole Cordova
    So are we all. There will never be another to fill his platform shoes...

  26. R.... V....

    Bowie, David Bowie! Maestro...

  27. C.... R....

    Well he threw his twist on a great punk song.

  28. C.... D....

    Gerry Leonard is killing it on this! <3

  29. I.... B....

    Saw Gerry Leonard playing that white guitar Bowie's playing recently

  30. B.... E....

    This cover sucks....

  31. J.... S....

    The last Picasso 👌🎸🎸🎸💕💌. 2019..

  32. N.... ....

    That band is so solid.

  33. P.... D....

    gail is hot

  34. G.... P....

    ....... che dire........ fantastico.... adorabile..... ineguagliabile per la sue eccellenti capacità artistiche e.... non dimentichiamoci della sua bellezza

  35. R.... F....

    What a cool cover!

  36. v.... m....

    Thanks too Françoise!

  37. �.... �....

    what year is it? have a full concert?

  38. d.... t....

    Magician Gerry Leonard on Guitar & Gail Ann Dorsey next to David~My Fav all time David Band!

    d.... t....

    He always chose the best. Earl Slick, Mike Garson, Catherine Russell. Who else could pull in that quality of musicianship?

  39. S.... ....

    About 15 years ago, I was having breakfast at a pub in NYC’s SoHo, sitting alone in a booth by the wall one Sunday afternoon. All the other booths were filled. Fine.

    This guy enters and sits down in the booth without asking me if it was OK. I didn’t care. I was reading a paper and would have gladly said yes, if he asked. I just ignored him.

    I didn’t want to engage him anyway, since I thought it was some junkie. The guy looked like a junkie, dissipated and worn, and there were lots of junkies in that neighborhood, just off the Bowery.

    After a while I looked up from the paper, looked at the guy more closely and saw it was Bowie. He lived across the street.

    Not impressed. Nor impressed how he ruined this great song by Jonathan Richman. Listen to the real version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc2iLAubras

    I’ve never down-thumbed anything I’ve heard on youtube, and I’ve heard 1000s. But he ruined this song. Down thumb #80

  40. L.... S....

    I can't live my life he like my drew no 1

  41. d.... d....

    Bowie appreciated and underappreciated at the same time.

  42. C.... T....

    Him playing that Bass is the best thing my eyes can appreciate

  43. A.... R....

    Amei!Amo Pablo Picasso tanto que meu filho mais velho chama-se Pablo!

  44. m.... t....

    excellent frontman bowie always put a lot in his music

    m.... t....

    and the women find him a sexy puzzle he will never be called an a@#hole

  45. S.... ....

    Interesting cover of the Modern Lovers classic...

  46. N.... T....

    75 assholes left their mark.

  47. Y.... E....

    Any man who claims he would not go gay for Bowie is lying. ;)
    Ohmygod.. :D
    ...
    ...
    ...
    He was so gorgeous human beeing... o_O;
    And I feel so lucky that I have lived during his time.

  48. B.... D....

    where is this recorded?

  49. U.... C....

    Swinging on the back porch
    Jumping off a big log
    Pablo's feeling better now
    Hanging by his finger nails

    [Verse 1]
    Well some people try to pick up girls
    They get called assholes
    This never happened to Pablo Picasso
    The girls would turn the color of a juicy avocado
    When he would drive down their street in his El Dorado
    He could walk down your street
    Girls could not resist his stare
    So Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole
    Not like you
    Wow!

    [Chorus][x2]

    [Verse 2]
    He could walk down your street
    And girls could not resist his stare
    Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole
    Well the girls would turn the color of a juicy avocado
    When he would drive down their street in his El Dorado
    Well he was only 5'3"
    But girls could not resist his stare
    Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole
    Not in New York
    Wow!

  50. g.... R....

    Modern Lovers cover version.

  51. m.... ....

    Oh when you didn’t even know this existed my heart

  52. P.... A....

    ❤❤❤❤👍👍!!!!!

  53. R.... R....

    Miss you! Still pains me

  54. W.... P....

    i wanted to like this but, even john cales version is better, and it isnt very good( studio vers on 'Fear" or "guts" - the live vers IS good) PabloPicasso doesn't "fancy up" well - too many Professional Musicians - this could be at a Las Vegas casino...uugh.

  55. C.... ....

    IS BOWIE THE BEST SINGER IN THE WORLD ?

  56. C.... ....

    WHAT A TALENT

  57. J.... N....

    That sax refrain really makes this version, although Bowie's great too. His is the best version of a great song - better than the original, or John Cale's, or Iggy's versions. And does it boast the best rhyming couplet in rock and roll? "Some people try to pick up girls and get called assholes; this never happened to Pablo Picasso!"

  58. M.... M....

    Good cover of the Modern Lovers.

  59. s.... j....

    I love Bowie, a great artist, I miss him too. I'm not diss'n the guy, but this version lost it's meaning, it's rawness, it's representation of what was going on in the NY music scene in the 70's.

  60. F.... L....

    Gesamtkunstwerk

  61. U.... ....

    Kurwa mać!

  62. g.... ....

    I just saw a Picasso Exhibit at the Nelson Atkins in Kansas City. This song kept playing in my mind....

  63. l.... ....

    this is my band i’m in front of it

  64. m.... l....

    I have a Burning Sensation.

  65. B.... M....

    God bless Jonathan Richman for creating this song, if for no other reason than the pure joy of seeing Bowie perform it here.

  66. A.... K....

    I heard this song off a cassette I found in a bankrupt restaurant in July in the late eighties. It was closed in December and the "Repo Man" soundtrack is what we found in the restaurant's music system. We listened to the this song in the summer heat. Mice jumped from a brown Christmas tree to a bread locker - green with velvety mold. It was rancid, hot, and the music matched so well. I really liked it.

    A.... K....

    The More You Drive, The Stupider You Get.
    Night, Day, It don't Mean Shit.
    I Cant Believe I used To Like These Guys.
    favorite lines from RepoMan We used to says these to each other all the time.
    TV PARTY TONIGHT!

  67. j.... s....

    He was all in monotone like the The Modern Lovers version on the album but he was so animated here

  68. j.... s....

    Why is the album version so different from the LIVE version? I was bummed.

  69. j.... s....

    He made this song HIS!!!!! The Modern Lovers version sounds flat after hearing this.

  70. J.... S....

    I keep thinking I hear a horn (sax?) but I don't see one. What am I hearing?

  71. m.... ....

    I CANT BELIEVE Bowies Vevo channel doesnt even have a million views!?!?!!? What the heck!!!!

    m.... ....

    musicisbrilliant: He wasn't popular. He was extraordinary. Name another rock musician who created work that inspired two symphonies? And Jason Bieber is not the answer.

    m.... ....

    Oh'the youth of today!

  72. L.... S....

    Such a huge part of my life 20 year's old at the glass spider tour in Vancouver, scary monsters super freaks first album I ever stoled discovering Mick ronson that led me to Ian Hunter ,Mott the hopple,and all that good shit . Bowie /Ronson unbeatable but those albums without ronno Station to station, low, young Americans,heroes just awesome to.

  73. T.... M....

    This song has the most genious intro. It`s magic!

  74. L.... S....

    Pablo Picasso was never called a asshole ,only bowie could write such awesomeness.

    L.... S....

    this song is not by him.

  75. d.... ....

    not blues times

  76. R.... ....

    I think he overcomplicated it

  77. s.... f....

    bravo for starman.

  78. m.... ....

    I love this cover so, so much. DB, you were a total artistic genius the likes of which we're never going to see again.

  79. K.... ....

    Worst crowd ever
    If Bowie was in front of me I'd jump everywhere idk

  80. F.... B....

    Is it meshell ndegeocello playing on bas?

  81. M.... ....

    I met Bowie in 2000 & he was as cool as everyone thinks Seeing Bowie live raised the bar so high The last time I saw him was this tour I was second row center and Bowie looked amazing & the show was incredibly good & it was the loudest audience I ever heard lol.

  82. V.... M....

    Песня хорошая, но я не могу понять, что со звуком. Вроде качество съемки нормальное, но при всём при этом, не очень хорошо слышно голоса Дэвида, будто музыку специально сделали громче, чтоб получалось так, будто он тихо поёт.

  83. T.... S....

    Why does such a big star have such a little internet presence? 266,163 views but Despacito has over 3 billion!

  84. m.... p....

    Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole, Not like you!!
    Well the girls would turn the colour of a juicy avocado, when he drove down the street in his Eldorado..
    He was only 5'3" but girls could not resist his stare, Pablo Picasso was never called an Asshole, not in New York City..
    Great lyrics... A legend.. RIP Bowie

  85. G.... G....

    PRECIOSO PRECIOSISIMO

  86. a.... ....

    Why loop anything when you have three guitars

  87. R.... ....

    Every piece, a piece of History.

  88. P.... ....

    Holy shit he's doing a Richman son, this is awesome holy shit again

  89. S.... H....

    Pablo Picasso never got called an arsehole.........................

  90. I.... M....

    David Bowie was never called a asshole,hes a genius.

  91. v.... m....

    Just see now how 'black star'  refers to picasso pablo.

  92. T.... M....

    0:32-0:47 it`s grandiously!! masterpiece

  93. D.... W....

    It's fucking wrong that he is gone!

  94. C.... m....

    "This is my band. I'm in front of it. That makes me David Bowie." Love that!!!!

  95. S.... M....

    Terrible just plain awful. Even John Cale's crummy version was better than this crap. That band i ans absolute disgrace.

  96. E.... H....

    He channels Little Richard with the greatest of ease.

  97. l.... ....

    Great live performance but the synths are beat compared to the studio recording

    l.... ....

    seems a faith

  98. L.... H....

    Nicely done by Bowie, but an original from The Modern Lovers. Check out their version too. it's more stripped down. very clever. I love both.

    L.... H....

    It's not the "original" the sound is completely different it just has the same lyrics :)

    L.... H....

    You can't really even hear the lyrics..

    L.... H....

    Sophie It's still not his song douchebag...... so Yeah, that is the original

    L.... H....

    Laurie Hasler God bless Jonathan Richman!!!!!! And you for being wiser than the rest of these sheep! 😆

    L.... H....

    Loved Jonathan Richmond and now two covers of it. John Cale's and Bowie's!

  99. E.... H....

    Jonathan R. must hate his original pales compared to this cover. Bowie should had done a tune on Basquiat.