E E E Esus4 E 2x
[Verse 1]
E
They're selling postcards of the hanging,
A E
they're painting the passports brown;
B7
the beauty parlor is filled with sailors,
A E
the circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner,
A E
they've got him in a trance;
B7
one hand is tied to the tight-rope walker,
A E
the other is in his pants
A
And the riot squad they're restless,
E A
they need somewhere to go;
E B7
as lady and I look out tonight,
A E E Esus4 E 3x
from Desolation Row
[Verse 2]
E
Cinderella, she seems so easy,
A E
"it takes one to know one," she smiles;
B7
and puts her hands in her back pockets,
A E
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning,
A E
"you belong to me I believe";
B7
and someone says,"
you're in the wrong place, my friend,
A E
you better leave"
A
And the only sound that's left,
E A
after the ambulances go;
E B7
is Cinderella sweeping up,
A E E Esus4 E 3x
on Desolation Row
[Verse 3]
E
Now the moon is almost hidden,
A E
the stars are beginning to hide;
B7
the fortunetelling lady,
A E
has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel,
A E
and the hunchback of Notre Dame;
B7
everybody is making love,
A E
or else expecting rain
A
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing,
E A
he's getting ready for the show;
E B7
he's going to the carnival tonight,
A E E Esus4 E 3x
on Desolation Row
[Verse 4]
E
Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window,
A E
for her I feel so afraid;
B7
on her twenty-second birthday,
A E
she already is an old maid
To her, death is quite romantic,
A E
she wears an iron vest;
B7
her profession's her religion,
A E
her sin is her lifelessness
A
And though her eyes are fixed upon,
E A
Noah's great rainbow;
E B7
she spends her time peeking,
A E E Esus4 E 3x
into Desolation Row
[Verse 5]
E
Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
A E
With his memories in a trunk
B7
Passed this way an hour ago
A E
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
A E
As he bummed a cigarette
B7
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
A E
And reciting the alphabet
A
Now you would not think to look at him
E A
But he was famous long ago
E B7
For playing the electric violin
A E Esus4 E 3x
On Desolation Row
[Verse 6]
E
Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
A E
Inside of a leather cup
B7
But all his sexless patients
A E
They're trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
A E
She's in charge of the cyanide hole
B7
And she also keeps the cards that read
A E
"Have Mercy on His Soul"
A
They all play on penny whistles
E A
You can hear them blow
E B7
If you lean your head out far enough
A E Esus4 E 3x
From Desolation Row
[Verse 7]
E
Across the street they've
nailed the curtains
A E
They're getting ready for the feast
B7
The Phantom of the Opera
A E
A perfect image of a priest
They're spoon feeding Casanova
A E
To get him to feel more assured
B7
Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
A E
After poisoning him with words
A
And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
E A
"Get Outa Here If You Don't Know
E B7
Casanova is just being punished for going
A E Esus4 E 3x
To Desolation Row"
[Verse 8]
E
Now at midnight all the agents
A E
And the superhuman crew
B7
Come out and round up everyone
A E
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
A E
Where the heart-attack machine
B7
Is strapped across their shoulders
A E
And then the kerosene
A
Is brought down from the castles
E A
By insurance men who go
E B7
Check to see that nobody is escaping
A E Esus4 E 3x
To Desolation Row
[Verse 9]
E
Praise be to Nero's Neptune
A E
The Titanic sails at dawn
B7
And everybody's shouting
A E
"Which Side Are You On?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
A E
Fighting in the captain's tower
B7
While calypso singers laugh at them
A E
And fishermen hold flowers
A
Between the windows of the sea
E A
Where lovely mermaids flow
E B7
And nobody has to think too much
A E E Esus4 E 3x
About Desolation Row
E A E B7 A E A E B7 A E A E A E B7 A E
[Verse 10]
E
Yes, I received your letter yesterday
A E
(About the time the door knob broke)
B7
When you asked how I was doing
A E
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
A E
Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
B7
I had to rearrange their faces
A E
And give them all another name
A
Right now I can't read too good
E A
Don't send me no more letters no
E B7
Not unless you mail them
A E E Esus4 E 2x
From Desolation Row
E A E B7 A E A E B7 A E A E A E B7 A E
Tags: Easy guitar chords, song lyrics, Bob Dylan
