[Intro]
E E E Esus4 E 2x
[Strophe]
        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
[Strophe]
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
[Strophe]
        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
[Strophe]
     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
[Strophe]
     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
[Strophe]
    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
[Strophe]
       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"
[Strophe]
     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
[Strophe]
      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
[Instrumentale]
E A E B7 A E A E B7 A E A E A E B7 A E
[Strophe]
      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
[Instrumentale]
E A E B7 A E A E B7 A E A E A E B7 A E