And of course, the narrator also lives on Desolation Row, occasionally leaning his head out the window to see what the other side is doing. Like many songs on the album, it contains a cast of dozens.
A little background knowledge might illuminate the lyrics. In the play, Romeo spends an inordinate amount of time bellyaching about how he is being unjustifiably separated from his love Juliet. This type of mopping about is frowned upon on Desolation Row, and he is told to leave.
Bette Davis was a very well-known American actress, starring in many Hollywood films. She became a major film star in the 30s and remained a major figure until her death in Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. The shepherd Abel kills his farmer brother Cain.
God finds out and punishes Cain, condemning him to wander the land for the rest of his days. The Hunchback is a deformed man who is employed as a bell ringer in the cathedral tower. Dylan probably took the name Ophelia from another Shakespeare play, Hamlet.
In the play, Ophelia falls in love with Hamlet, a prince. Things end badly, and Ophelia dies young, drowning in a stream. I suppose this symbolizes a wasted life lived outside Desolation Row. Noah, of course, was the gather of animals for the ark.
God told him to build the ark in order to preserve the species from the flood he was about to unleash on the wicked world. And of those, there are a number that were played often enough to be considered favorites of the band. The word count comes in at But I think that it was something about the sheer volume of words, of references, of visuals and unseen plots and relationships contained within those words that lent the song a part of its meaning.
They're selling postcards of the hanging [2] They're painting the passports brown [3] The beauty parlor is filled with sailors The circus is in town Here comes the blind commissioner They've got him in a trance One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker The other is in his pants And the riot squad they're restless They need somewhere to go As Lady [4] and I look out tonight From Desolation Row.
Recorded August 4, RS Dec. That's a minstrel song through and through. I saw some ragtag minstrel show in blackface at the carnivals when I was growing up, and it had an effect on me, just as much as seeing the lady with four legs.
First to be called to mind is the Jack Kerouac novel, Desolation Angels , published in The novel had its origins much earlier, written around the same time as the publication of On the Road. Lastly, this song, with its myriad of literary, biblical, and popular culture references, has something in common with the T.
Side note: Duluth, like the song itself, is at the end of Highway Three African-American circus workers were lynched by a mob of residents when they were accused, falsely, as it turned out, of raping a local girl.
The incident made national headlines. The James Robinson circus arrived in town on the previous day. No physical signs of assault were found when Tusker was examined by her family physician the following morning; nevertheless, the six workers were arrested and jailed. A mob of 5, to 10, stormed the jail and took three of the accused men for a mock trial where they were found guilty.
Postcards were printed of the lynched bodies, and sold. Also the title of a recording by Bruce Russell, released in Possibly a reference to Billie Holiday, whose nickname was Lady Day. Hence, both Dylan and Holiday looked out at, and sang about, the hangings by mobs. Cinderella [5] , she seems so easy "It takes one to know one," [6] she smiles And puts her hands in her back pockets Bette Davis [7] style And in comes Romeo [8] , he's moaning "You Belong to Me I Believe" [9] And someone says," You're in the wrong place, my friend You better leave" And the only sound that's left After the ambulances go Is Cinderella sweeping up On Desolation Row Now the moon is almost hidden The stars are beginning to hide The fortunetelling lady Has even taken all her things inside All except for Cain and Abel [10].
An ancient, archetypal figure in folk literature, found throughout the world. The character embodies one who is wrongly discounted, whose true attributes are unknown or unappreciated, but who eventually proves everyone wrong by virtue of great success. Often used as a curt rejoinder to deflect an accusation; you're only saying that about me because it's true of you.
Originated in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Titelman Random House, New York, April 5, — October 6, American actress. Biblical characters: the two sons of Adam and Eve. The Biblical story of Cain and Abel is found in Genesis ff. And the hunchback of Notre Dame [11] Everybody is making love Or else expecting rain [12] And the Good Samaritan, [13] he's dressing He's getting ready for the show He's going to the carnival tonight On Desolation Row Now Ophelia, [14] she's 'neath the window For her I feel so afraid.
He is adopted and brought up as the cathedral bell-ringer, and loses his hearing as a result. The man answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.
They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead with no clothes. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper.
On her twenty-second birthday She already is an old maid To her, death is quite romantic She wears an iron vest Her profession's her religion Her sin is her lifelessness And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow [15] She spends her time peeking Into Desolation Row Einstein, [16] disguised as Robin Hood [17] With his memories in a trunk Passed this way an hour ago With his friend, a jealous monk He looked so immaculately frightful As he bummed a cigarette Then he went off sniffing drainpipes And reciting the alphabet Now you would not think to look at him But he was famous long ago For playing the electric violin On Desolation Row Dr.
Filth, he keeps his world Inside of a leather cup But all his sexless patients. Following the great flood, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah, who had built and stocked an ark with a pair of each animal, that never again would the world be destroyed by water. Albert Einstein, physicist who promulgated the Theory of Relativity. Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Figure from English literature and folk tales, dating from the medieval period, who was known for robbing from the rich to give to the poor. The ninth verse is a summary of the current state of affairs in World leaders are fiddling around ignoring the impending doom.
The religious fishermen pray for peace but accomplish nothing. The entire earth is endangered, not just one or two continents. Even the most beautiful and tranquil areas will be destroyed. In the last verse Bob speaks for himself. Nuclear Armageddon almost became a reality via the Cuban missile crisis when the doorknob broke. He is dismayed that anyone can ignore the dire fate of mankind.
He also provides clues about the meaning of this song, acknowledging playful terms were used to mask the appalling events the song describes. This song requires a lot of thought and research to decipher its message. That is what makes it such a masterpiece! Desolation Row is a song about man's inhumanity. The reference to Bette Davis, an actress that usually played an evil person, further strengthens this point.
The ninth verse is a summary of the current state of affairs. Einstein, one of those unfortunates, was compelled to emigrate to the US, with his belongings in a trunk. He had died only ten years before this song was written. Science was seen as the new religion hence he, science's new priest was escorted by a jealous monk. His insights into the equivalence of mass and energy promised wonderful things, hence he might be seen as a modern Robin Hood delivering much to ordinary people but the truth is very frightful as the product of the money bummed from the Allies to produce an atomic weapon produced a horror.
The product of his mind was immaculate but the result was frightful. His seminal papers electrified the world when they were published, but he struggled to unite classical physics with quantum physics, and in a sense he faded, was famous long ago pre WWI. Others have covered much of the rest of the lyrics. I will jump in. The whole poem is a collage of many things but a central theme is a place called Desolation Row where resides those with the stomach to look long into the face of the truth.
The Good Samaritan is dressing as if for a major formal event, perhaps to receive recognition and applause, but is a carnival, a festival on Desolation Row where only those who see the light and truth are allowed to live.
A carnival of the truth would be a spectacular event and probably heaven and the just deserts of the Good Samaritan. It is a scene intended to distract the viewer from the harsh realities of life. We drape our windows with pretty curtains to keep out the harsh light of reality, we drive down the boulevard listening to our pretty songs to color the rough world without and we prefer our stories with happy endings.
Looking constantly into the face of reality is very hard and singer rejects those who don't even try: "Yes, I received your letter yesterday about the time the door-knob broke, when you asked me how I was doing, was that some kind of joke? Yes, I recall all these people you mention, I assure you they are quite lame, I had to rearrange their faces and give them another name.
Well desolation row is a place where people who do not fit into society free thinkers and artists go to live. So make of that what you wish. This song is about a very rough street named desolation row and lots of fighting and violence. I lived in the village during the 60's when Bob was playing at Folk City.
I enjoyed your intelligent comment. It is a deep mine of language to which this great genius, or as David Bowie called him , "the super brow" took us all, and we are still enjoying the exploration. As he said, "all these people that you mentioned, I know them, they're quite lame, I had to rearrange their faces, and give them all another name. Next one in line to the crown was Jim Morrison who has followed Bob as a endless source of mystery and the fount of many a doctoral thesis by those who marvel and describe but can't create.
Solipsism on January 31, Song Meaning Desolation Row is a state of mind representing the developing counter culture of the s that is outside of the establishment, convention, and the mainstream culture. The artists, free thinkers, and misfits congregate on Desolation Row to strip away the false illusions of society.
The name, Desolation Row, may have been a combination of Desolation Angels Kerouac with Cannery Row Steinbeck and influenced by the writings by Woody Guthrie about the underclass of society desiring change.
The characters on Desolation Row are a part of the carnival show that represent, verse by verse: politics, traditional roles, evil, religion, science, medicine and love. Many of the characters are counter culture misfits, both good and bad, that have caused society to question the status quo.
Likely, the first verse has historical basis from Dylan's days in Minnesota when he discovered that people commercially sold postcards of local hangings see footnote below. The setting is the absurdity of a world circus with "blind" politicians "tied to tight rope walkers" pleasing only themselves with "one hand in their pants" the "riot squads need some place to go.
The traditional roles of women do not apply anymore. The third verse is in stark contrast to the second as the storm builds "The stars are beginning to hide" and "everyone" goes inside and "is making love" "or expecting rain". Excluded are Cain and Abel, presumably as they represent jealousy and evil, and the Hunchback, for his betrayal of family.
The Good Samaritan is in contrast as he "does unto others" and is invited to the carnival in contrast to the evil. The fourth verse centers on the suicidal Ophelia who is an outsider due top the "iron vest" of her traditional religion. She is old before her time because she is not true to herself "Her profession's her religion, her sin is her lifelessness.
She is fixed on Noah's Rainbow a time for judgment after purification , and so she only peeks into the life of Desolation Row as an outsider. She is the stereotype of a religion based on self denial and not allowing one to experience life. The fifth verse centers on the disheveled Einstein and "his friend" "With his friend, a jealous monk" Isaac Newton was a monk that would have been jealous of Al's abilities who was known for "playing the electric violin on Desolation Row.
The reference to Dylan's electric guitar at the Newport Folk Concert that changed music, as Einstein did Newton's physics, is unmistakable. He wears a disguise Robin Hood a do-gooder to shield himself from the potential uses of his discoveries that he keeps locked "in a trunk. Filth is likely Sigmund Freud based on the "F" name, the "sexless patients," and his atheist viewpoint that led to his split with Carl Jung thus requiring his nurse "she also keeps the cards that read "Have mercy on his soul".
Verse seven features Casanova being nurtured "to get him to feel more assured" by the Phantom of the Opera a disfigured genius who nurtured Christine , as the great lover is being poisoned with word and self-confidence as a punishment for his visit to Desolation Row where no pretense is allowed. The "skinny girls" are being urged to leave as, presumably, Casanova will return to his correct place in the social order and they have no place at the "feast.
Verse eight centers on what happens at midnight when the agents "round everyone up" that "knows more than they do. The insurance men are the police. No matter what, this verse is inconsistent with the characters of the other verses, and may have been added at a different time. A fight has broken out between Pound and Eliot both had distinct ideas on the place of races and were in the "captain's tower" in the war of ideas over civil rights and everybody's shouting "Which side are you on?
This sounds like the fight for civil rights that was occurring in , that was being led by the residents of Desolation Row. The last verse is separated by a long harmonica solo, and a personal tone that is separate from the circus of surreal characters of the previous verses.
Dylan is unable to change the past "the door knob broke" and is residing on Desolation Row as the only alternative in repressive society where he is seen as a dangerous subversive for his leadership role in civil rights "When you asked how I was doing, was that some kind of joke?
He does not want to respond to the questions from "the letter" from mainstream society until the writer joins him in an understanding that the song is coming from the counter culture of dissidents on Desolation Row "Don't send me no more letters no, not unless you mail them from Desolation Row.
Both Dylan, and "Lady," Baez "look out" as members of a group desiring social change. The rich set of cultural and religious stereotypes as metaphors to describe society is reinforced by the use of imagery in each phrase.
No doubt, the song was intended to have many meanings, and was as Joan Baez said in Diamonds and Rust, to give all of us "some vagueness" that we need.
Perhaps, this song was the best description of the counter counter that was emerging at the time, and that paved the way for social evolution by a group that had previously been outcast from politics. The men were in town with a traveling circus and were dubiously accused of raping a local girl.
The Police Commissioner instructed the guards not to use their guns to defend the young men who were broken out of jail by the mob. Postcards with a photo of the incident were sold as souvenirs. It seems likely that the opening lines of Desolation Row, refer to this incident and the players involved, or to Duluth in general.
Fuckin' awesome. General Comment When reading the lyrics, the first question that I had was whether the "Desolation Row" described in the song was a good or bad place.
Everyone here seems to think it's a bad place to be, but I think the opposite. You look at the imagery and descriptions Dylan uses of places outside DR, and you might agree with me. Verse 3: The world is ending. Or at least people think it is. But inside DR, no one is frightened. There's a carnival going on. Verses Everything in these verses happens outside of DR. And it all sucks. You have things like a "cyanide hole" and a "heart attack machine," which in my mind are symbols for the "rat race" of life.
In these verses, people like Cassanova are trying to get to DR, a clear sign that it's better than wherever they are. Verse I think that the first 9 verses were parts of the letter that the narrator received. The "people that you mention" were all the characters from the rest of the poem. The doorknob breaking refers to the question from the earlier verse "Which side are you on? I'm not too clear on what the punchline might be, but I would guess that DR is a place where there is no oppression e.
Filth, Phantom, or insurence men , so the song is a tirade against depression. McShark on June 05, Link. I think it's a state of mind, enlightenment, hipness itself - alternative culture and reality in the truest sense.
Awesome interpretetion. I wouldn't disagree with any of it. I think the song is brilliant in its poetic economy of words and evocativeness. The doorknob breaking refers to her no longer being shut out of DR. He gets the letter at the same time the doorknob breaks.
She is in La La land, while he is in reality DR. He doesn't want to hear about all of these circus freaks, and their craziness from the fantasy outside world, he wants to hear them why he rearranged their faces from reality. This must be what Dylan sees in the world of entertainment--a bunch of hangers-on, sycophants, suck-ups, narcissists, etc. For Dylan, desolation row is lonely, but safe, and real. He is healthy, they are frauds. It makes more sense that way. But what about the skinny girls mentioned by phantom, or Ophelia.
I think that some of these refer to a prostitution home, as mentioned in an earlier replies. I'm going to go comment on Ballad of a Thin Man now. McShark The Beats had the idea that, in order to be free, you had to live on the margins of society, a view later summarized in Leary's epigram "turn on, tune in, drop out" also soon after, in an amusing song with that name by the Fugs.
Dylan also expresses this view elsewhere: "to live outside the law you must be honest. General Comment I remain a firm believer that this this song is discussing, in no uncertain terms, the Holocaust. Now, whether Dylan is using the Holocaust as an alagory toward a greater meaning, or a greater warning, I do not know. The language shows clear indicators towards some key moments in the Holocaust. Something bad is brewing, something in the people, in the population. A storm is coming as he leans out the window, you can smell it, feel it.
Listen and see what happens to Romeo -- the star crossed lover who dares cross the social fabric to love a hated rival. Romeo is in desolation row, the Jewish neighborhood, and is reminded, kindly My friend to leave, you're in the wrong place. The conflagration hinted at in verse one happens, in an instant, in between the lines of verse two. Abulances haul off the wounded and dead from a destructive rampage -- remember the riot squad is restless, they need a place to go, and they are getting ready for the hanging, the sailors are in town.
Windows broke, and Cinderella -- the poor orphaned step-sister is right back where she always is, in her neighboorhood, cleaning up after another anti-Jewish show of force and violence. Consider the Hunchback, an inncocent victim who saw unjust things, and for years did nothing.
Consider the Good Samaritan -- the non-Jew who helped the jewish man on the road after being robbed. Its dark, dead dark of night. The only people who dare hit the street are either those looking for trouble, the innocent soon-to-be-victim, or the few who stick their necks out to help.
She is young, impressionable. Ophelia was a fool who mooned for Hamlet. This verse makes tremendous sense in the context of the dicsussion with Hamlet in the Nunnery Scene. And her eyes are fixed on Noah's Great rainbow -- a symbol of the promise of God to mankind that he will never again allow the world to be destroyed -- although she keeps her hopes facing the rainbow, she looks into desolation row, peeking, watching the horror and chaos of the persecution.
In Hamlet, she gives mutes and cryptic reference to what is happening to the characters. Same thing here. Verse Five: Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood With his memories in a trunk Passed this way an hour ago With his friend, a jealous monk He looked so immaculately frightful As he bummed a cigarette Then he went off sniffing drainpipes And reciting the alphabet Now you would not think to look at him But he was famous long ago For playing the electric violin On Desolation Row The intelligencia and those who have the ability are getting out.
Einstein left Germany in teh face of harsh rising anti-jewish attacks. You wouldn't know it, looking at him now as a famous man, but long ago he was a just a simple Jew who lived in Desolation row. Verse Six: Dr. I don't think that is exactly correct. I think this is not likely far off. They all play on pennywhistles, you can hear them blow. The marching, rythmic music, all in unison. You can hear them, just out side, if you lean out far enough from desolation row.
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