All the rowboats in the paintings
They keep trying to row away
And the captains' worried faces
Stay contorted and staring at the waves
They'll keep hanging in their gold frames
For forever, forever and a day
All the rowboats in the oil paintings
They keep trying to row away, row awayHear them whispering French and German
Dutch, Italian, and Latin
When no one's looking I catch a sculpture marble,
Cold, and soft as satinBut the most special are the most lonely
God, I pity the violins
In glass coffins they keep coughing
They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing, how to sing.First there's lights out, then there's lock up
Masterpieces serving maximum sentences
It's their own fault for being timeless
There's a price you pay and a consequence
All the galleries, the museums
Here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs
They're just public mausoleums
Here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs
They're just public mausoleums
The living dead fill every roomBut the most special are the most lonely
God, I pity the violins
In glass coffins they keep coughing
They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing
Why does she say the works of art are serving maximum sentences?
What are the glass coffins?
What does there's lights out, then there's lock up mean?
What is OR Who are the living dead?
Best Answer
The songwriter is mixing mausoleum and prison metaphors.
The "glass coffins" are the cases in which the (presumably) priceless violins are stored and (presumably) never played. The "living dead" are the instruments which should be played, but instead are kept on display, never making music.
Combined that with the prison image of "lights out" (time for the museum to close) and "lock up" (the violins are locked away like prisoners). "Maximum sentences" implies the violins are to be locked away forever.
As for whether she is really talking about encased instruments, or whether it's a more complicated metaphor -- I leave that to your interpretation.