Safe within my ivory tower
I contemplate the Manhattan skyline
(can't see the woods for the trees)
I watch the people way below
Moving in some other sort of lifetime...
And buildings that stand grey and tall
Look in through my window
But I want to see a patch of green...

I'll picture this upon a screen
And paint the grass
A thousand shades of summer
(oh, in a portrait of a dream)
I'll picture this in magazines
A photograph of fields in different colours
(oh, in a portrait of a dream)

Clouds are forming overhead
And rain falls in a testament of silence
(feels like an omen to me)
Above the city's concrete walls
The sun shines through and silhouettes the sidewalks...
And there beneath the gleaming spires
Small, yet so familiar
I see a perfect patch of green...

I'll picture this upon a screen
And paint the grass
A thousand shades of summer
(oh, in a portrait of a dream)
I'll picture this in magazines
A photograph of fields in different colours
(oh, in a portrait of a dream)

And every morning I will see out of my window
An illustration to my soul
(it won't fade away)
And in my hear I'll keep the memory
Like a photo
That's all I ever need to know...

Let the image come to me
Of nature's resurrection
And focus on a patch of green...

I'll picture this upon a screen
And paint the grass
A thousand shades of summer
(oh, in a portrait of a dream)
I'll picture this in magazines
A photograph of fields in different colours
(oh, in a portrait of a dream)