Desolation Row

Desolation Row Lyrics

Song Desolation Row
Artist Bob Dylan
Album The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home - The Soundtrack
Download Image LRC TXT
[00:05.19] They're selling postcards of the hanging
[00:10.57] They're painting the passports brown
[00:15.56] The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
[00:21.13] The circus is in town
[00:26.00] Here comes the blind commissioner
[00:32.95] They've got him in a trance
[00:38.00] One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
[00:40.64]
[00:43.51] The other is in his pants
[00:50.01] And the riot squad they're restless
[00:55.33] They need somewhere to go
[01:00.32] As Lady and I look out tonight
[01:04.88] From Desolation Row
[01:17.26] Cinderella, she seems so easy
[01:22.64] "It takes one to know one," she smiles
[01:27.20] And puts her hands in her back pockets
[01:33.51] Bette Davis style
[01:37.76] And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
[01:41.76] "You Belong to Me I Believe"
[01:47.72] And someone says," You're in the wrong place, my friend
[01:52.90] You better leave"
[01:57.40] And the only sound that's left
[02:02.53] After the ambulances go
[02:07.59] Is Cinderella sweeping up
[02:10.15]
[02:13.02] On Desolation Row
[02:24.21] Now the moon is almost hidden
[02:29.33] The stars are beginning to hide
[02:34.71] The fortunetelling lady
[02:39.02] Has even taken all her things inside
[02:44.21] All except for Cain and Abel
[02:49.14] And the hunchback of Notre Dame
[02:54.40] Everybody is making love
[02:59.08] Or else expecting rain
[03:04.08] And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
[03:08.57] He's getting ready for the show
[03:14.13] He's going to the carnival tonight
[03:20.12] On Desolation Row
[03:31.06] Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window
[03:36.18] For her I feel so afraid
[03:41.12] On her twenty-second birthday
[03:45.74] She already is an old maid
[03:53.01] To her, death is quite romantic
[03:58.45] She wears an iron vest
[04:03.45] Her profession's her religion
[04:08.26] Her sin is her lifelessness
[04:13.07] And though her eyes are fixed upon
[04:18.26] Noah's great rainbow
[04:23.13] She spends her time peeking
[04:26.76] Into Desolation Row
[04:40.39] Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
[04:44.82] With his memories in a trunk
[04:50.20] Passed this way an hour ago
[04:54.64] With his friend, a jealous monk
[05:02.14] He looked so immaculately frightful
[05:07.14] As he bummed a cigarette
[05:11.89] Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
[05:16.39] And reciting the alphabet
[05:21.51] Now you would not think to look at him
[05:26.26] But he was famous long ago
[05:31.51] For playing the electric violin
[05:35.95] On Desolation Row
[05:50.63] Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
[05:55.76] Inside of a leather cup
[06:00.32] But all his sexless patients
[06:05.32] They're trying to blow it up
[06:09.95] Now his nurse, some local loser
[06:14.95] She's in charge of the cyanide hose
[06:20.01] And she also keeps the cards that read
[06:24.57] "Have Mercy on His Soul"
[06:29.57] They all play on penny whistles
[06:34.76] You can hear them blow
[06:39.39] If you lean your head out far enough
[06:43.88] From Desolation Row
[06:58.64] Across the street they've nailed the curtains
[07:03.00] They're getting ready for the feast
[07:08.32] The Phantom of the Opera
[07:12.57] A perfect image of a priest
[07:19.07] They're spoonfeeding Casanova
[07:24.07] To get him to feel more assured
[07:28.57] Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
[07:33.20] After poisoning him with words
[07:40.63] And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
[07:45.57] "Get Outa Here If You Don't Know
[07:50.45] Casanova is just being punished for going
[07:55.88] To Desolation Row"
[08:11.70] Now at midnight all the agents
[08:16.50] And the superhuman crew
[08:21.69] Come out and round up everyone
[08:26.01] That knows more than they do
[08:35.44] Then they bring them to the factory
[08:40.38] Where the heart-attack machine
[08:45.19] Is strapped across their shoulders
[08:49.63] And then the kerosene
[08:52.44] Is brought down from the castles
[08:59.01] By insurance men who go
[09:04.00] Check to see that nobody is escaping
[09:08.76] To Desolation Row
[09:25.37] Praise be to Nero's Neptune
[09:30.32] The Titanic sails at dawn
[09:35.88] And everybody's shouting
[09:40.31] "Which Side Are You On?"
[09:46.57] And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
[09:51.75] Fighting in the captain's tower
[09:56.07] While calypso singers laugh at them
[10:00.82] And fishermen hold flowers
[10:06.01] Between the windows of the sea
[10:10.69] Where lovely mermaids flow
[10:15.44] And nobody has to think too much
[10:19.82] About Desolation Row
[10:34.07] Yes, I received your letter yesterday
[10:38.56] (About the time the door knob broke)
[10:43.19] When you asked how I was doing
[10:48.38] Was that some kind of joke?
[10:54.38] All these people that you mention
[11:00.94] Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
[11:05.81] I had to rearrange their faces
[11:10.50] And give them all another name
[11:18.01] Right now I can't read too good
[11:22.38] Don't send me no more letters no
[11:25.63] Not unless you mail them
[11:31.13] From Desolation Row
[00:05.19] They' re selling postcards of the hanging
[00:10.57] They' re painting the passports brown
[00:15.56] The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
[00:21.13] The circus is in town
[00:26.00] Here comes the blind commissioner
[00:32.95] They' ve got him in a trance
[00:38.00] One hand is tied to the tightrope walker
[00:40.64]
[00:43.51] The other is in his pants
[00:50.01] And the riot squad they' re restless
[00:55.33] They need somewhere to go
[01:00.32] As Lady and I look out tonight
[01:04.88] From Desolation Row
[01:17.26] Cinderella, she seems so easy
[01:22.64] " It takes one to know one," she smiles
[01:27.20] And puts her hands in her back pockets
[01:33.51] Bette Davis style
[01:37.76] And in comes Romeo, he' s moaning
[01:41.76] " You Belong to Me I Believe"
[01:47.72] And someone says," You' re in the wrong place, my friend
[01:52.90] You better leave"
[01:57.40] And the only sound that' s left
[02:02.53] After the ambulances go
[02:07.59] Is Cinderella sweeping up
[02:10.15]
[02:13.02] On Desolation Row
[02:24.21] Now the moon is almost hidden
[02:29.33] The stars are beginning to hide
[02:34.71] The fortunetelling lady
[02:39.02] Has even taken all her things inside
[02:44.21] All except for Cain and Abel
[02:49.14] And the hunchback of Notre Dame
[02:54.40] Everybody is making love
[02:59.08] Or else expecting rain
[03:04.08] And the Good Samaritan, he' s dressing
[03:08.57] He' s getting ready for the show
[03:14.13] He' s going to the carnival tonight
[03:20.12] On Desolation Row
[03:31.06] Now Ophelia, she' s ' neath the window
[03:36.18] For her I feel so afraid
[03:41.12] On her twentysecond birthday
[03:45.74] She already is an old maid
[03:53.01] To her, death is quite romantic
[03:58.45] She wears an iron vest
[04:03.45] Her profession' s her religion
[04:08.26] Her sin is her lifelessness
[04:13.07] And though her eyes are fixed upon
[04:18.26] Noah' s great rainbow
[04:23.13] She spends her time peeking
[04:26.76] Into Desolation Row
[04:40.39] Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
[04:44.82] With his memories in a trunk
[04:50.20] Passed this way an hour ago
[04:54.64] With his friend, a jealous monk
[05:02.14] He looked so immaculately frightful
[05:07.14] As he bummed a cigarette
[05:11.89] Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
[05:16.39] And reciting the alphabet
[05:21.51] Now you would not think to look at him
[05:26.26] But he was famous long ago
[05:31.51] For playing the electric violin
[05:35.95] On Desolation Row
[05:50.63] Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
[05:55.76] Inside of a leather cup
[06:00.32] But all his sexless patients
[06:05.32] They' re trying to blow it up
[06:09.95] Now his nurse, some local loser
[06:14.95] She' s in charge of the cyanide hose
[06:20.01] And she also keeps the cards that read
[06:24.57] " Have Mercy on His Soul"
[06:29.57] They all play on penny whistles
[06:34.76] You can hear them blow
[06:39.39] If you lean your head out far enough
[06:43.88] From Desolation Row
[06:58.64] Across the street they' ve nailed the curtains
[07:03.00] They' re getting ready for the feast
[07:08.32] The Phantom of the Opera
[07:12.57] A perfect image of a priest
[07:19.07] They' re spoonfeeding Casanova
[07:24.07] To get him to feel more assured
[07:28.57] Then they' ll kill him with selfconfidence
[07:33.20] After poisoning him with words
[07:40.63] And the Phantom' s shouting to skinny girls
[07:45.57] " Get Outa Here If You Don' t Know
[07:50.45] Casanova is just being punished for going
[07:55.88] To Desolation Row"
[08:11.70] Now at midnight all the agents
[08:16.50] And the superhuman crew
[08:21.69] Come out and round up everyone
[08:26.01] That knows more than they do
[08:35.44] Then they bring them to the factory
[08:40.38] Where the heartattack machine
[08:45.19] Is strapped across their shoulders
[08:49.63] And then the kerosene
[08:52.44] Is brought down from the castles
[08:59.01] By insurance men who go
[09:04.00] Check to see that nobody is escaping
[09:08.76] To Desolation Row
[09:25.37] Praise be to Nero' s Neptune
[09:30.32] The Titanic sails at dawn
[09:35.88] And everybody' s shouting
[09:40.31] " Which Side Are You On?"
[09:46.57] And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
[09:51.75] Fighting in the captain' s tower
[09:56.07] While calypso singers laugh at them
[10:00.82] And fishermen hold flowers
[10:06.01] Between the windows of the sea
[10:10.69] Where lovely mermaids flow
[10:15.44] And nobody has to think too much
[10:19.82] About Desolation Row
[10:34.07] Yes, I received your letter yesterday
[10:38.56] About the time the door knob broke
[10:43.19] When you asked how I was doing
[10:48.38] Was that some kind of joke?
[10:54.38] All these people that you mention
[11:00.94] Yes, I know them, they' re quite lame
[11:05.81] I had to rearrange their faces
[11:10.50] And give them all another name
[11:18.01] Right now I can' t read too good
[11:22.38] Don' t send me no more letters no
[11:25.63] Not unless you mail them
[11:31.13] From Desolation Row
[00:05.19] They' re selling postcards of the hanging
[00:10.57] They' re painting the passports brown
[00:15.56] The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
[00:21.13] The circus is in town
[00:26.00] Here comes the blind commissioner
[00:32.95] They' ve got him in a trance
[00:38.00] One hand is tied to the tightrope walker
[00:40.64]
[00:43.51] The other is in his pants
[00:50.01] And the riot squad they' re restless
[00:55.33] They need somewhere to go
[01:00.32] As Lady and I look out tonight
[01:04.88] From Desolation Row
[01:17.26] Cinderella, she seems so easy
[01:22.64] " It takes one to know one," she smiles
[01:27.20] And puts her hands in her back pockets
[01:33.51] Bette Davis style
[01:37.76] And in comes Romeo, he' s moaning
[01:41.76] " You Belong to Me I Believe"
[01:47.72] And someone says," You' re in the wrong place, my friend
[01:52.90] You better leave"
[01:57.40] And the only sound that' s left
[02:02.53] After the ambulances go
[02:07.59] Is Cinderella sweeping up
[02:10.15]
[02:13.02] On Desolation Row
[02:24.21] Now the moon is almost hidden
[02:29.33] The stars are beginning to hide
[02:34.71] The fortunetelling lady
[02:39.02] Has even taken all her things inside
[02:44.21] All except for Cain and Abel
[02:49.14] And the hunchback of Notre Dame
[02:54.40] Everybody is making love
[02:59.08] Or else expecting rain
[03:04.08] And the Good Samaritan, he' s dressing
[03:08.57] He' s getting ready for the show
[03:14.13] He' s going to the carnival tonight
[03:20.12] On Desolation Row
[03:31.06] Now Ophelia, she' s ' neath the window
[03:36.18] For her I feel so afraid
[03:41.12] On her twentysecond birthday
[03:45.74] She already is an old maid
[03:53.01] To her, death is quite romantic
[03:58.45] She wears an iron vest
[04:03.45] Her profession' s her religion
[04:08.26] Her sin is her lifelessness
[04:13.07] And though her eyes are fixed upon
[04:18.26] Noah' s great rainbow
[04:23.13] She spends her time peeking
[04:26.76] Into Desolation Row
[04:40.39] Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
[04:44.82] With his memories in a trunk
[04:50.20] Passed this way an hour ago
[04:54.64] With his friend, a jealous monk
[05:02.14] He looked so immaculately frightful
[05:07.14] As he bummed a cigarette
[05:11.89] Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
[05:16.39] And reciting the alphabet
[05:21.51] Now you would not think to look at him
[05:26.26] But he was famous long ago
[05:31.51] For playing the electric violin
[05:35.95] On Desolation Row
[05:50.63] Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
[05:55.76] Inside of a leather cup
[06:00.32] But all his sexless patients
[06:05.32] They' re trying to blow it up
[06:09.95] Now his nurse, some local loser
[06:14.95] She' s in charge of the cyanide hose
[06:20.01] And she also keeps the cards that read
[06:24.57] " Have Mercy on His Soul"
[06:29.57] They all play on penny whistles
[06:34.76] You can hear them blow
[06:39.39] If you lean your head out far enough
[06:43.88] From Desolation Row
[06:58.64] Across the street they' ve nailed the curtains
[07:03.00] They' re getting ready for the feast
[07:08.32] The Phantom of the Opera
[07:12.57] A perfect image of a priest
[07:19.07] They' re spoonfeeding Casanova
[07:24.07] To get him to feel more assured
[07:28.57] Then they' ll kill him with selfconfidence
[07:33.20] After poisoning him with words
[07:40.63] And the Phantom' s shouting to skinny girls
[07:45.57] " Get Outa Here If You Don' t Know
[07:50.45] Casanova is just being punished for going
[07:55.88] To Desolation Row"
[08:11.70] Now at midnight all the agents
[08:16.50] And the superhuman crew
[08:21.69] Come out and round up everyone
[08:26.01] That knows more than they do
[08:35.44] Then they bring them to the factory
[08:40.38] Where the heartattack machine
[08:45.19] Is strapped across their shoulders
[08:49.63] And then the kerosene
[08:52.44] Is brought down from the castles
[08:59.01] By insurance men who go
[09:04.00] Check to see that nobody is escaping
[09:08.76] To Desolation Row
[09:25.37] Praise be to Nero' s Neptune
[09:30.32] The Titanic sails at dawn
[09:35.88] And everybody' s shouting
[09:40.31] " Which Side Are You On?"
[09:46.57] And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
[09:51.75] Fighting in the captain' s tower
[09:56.07] While calypso singers laugh at them
[10:00.82] And fishermen hold flowers
[10:06.01] Between the windows of the sea
[10:10.69] Where lovely mermaids flow
[10:15.44] And nobody has to think too much
[10:19.82] About Desolation Row
[10:34.07] Yes, I received your letter yesterday
[10:38.56] About the time the door knob broke
[10:43.19] When you asked how I was doing
[10:48.38] Was that some kind of joke?
[10:54.38] All these people that you mention
[11:00.94] Yes, I know them, they' re quite lame
[11:05.81] I had to rearrange their faces
[11:10.50] And give them all another name
[11:18.01] Right now I can' t read too good
[11:22.38] Don' t send me no more letters no
[11:25.63] Not unless you mail them
[11:31.13] From Desolation Row
Desolation Row Lyrics
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