Picture Book

Picture book is implying that there are no words. The book could be metaphorical. It is likely it is a compilation of someones (his) actions. A book may also be a testament. The song suggests that it hasn't been opened or it has been relished because it's placed to the side.

Wow...no one has commented yet on this powerful song? I remember hearing this for the 1st time watching an episode of Miami Vice called the "The Good Collar"....the lyrics are elusive, so maybe the clue to understanding it is the last line...."here by the side of Piero's spirit" ~ if it's the Piero I'm thinking of (renaissance painter Piero della Francesca), he was known to be a humanist, mathematician, and deeply Christian intellectual who managed fuse all of his skill into his perspective. This album by Simply Red had quite a bit of social commentary - Mick Hucknall was flexing his political conscience on this one, I believe.....is it it a song about a civil rights activist, like Reverend ML King, (who was dead by 1985, but a deeply Christian intellectual), and is "he" the one who is "long gone" and was living out his message and beliefs in an era of intense struggle? If you framed everything he did in 1 picture, it shows us what went right for him (the win), what he did to make change happen (the will), and what went wrong in the end for him (the wicked).....but what he left behind was beautiful legacy...and it's written in the picture book (mankind's history). Anyways, a bit pretentious of me to think I know what Mick's referring to, but that's what this site's about, no? I listen to it often and those nebulous lyrics make me think....t's certainly a masterpiece and he sings the SHIT out of it! Clearly underappreciated with the lack of comments, lol

[Edit: typo]