"Desolation Row"
My Chemical Romance Lyrics

They're selling postcards of the hanging
People are making profit on the painful sight of someone being hanged

They're painting the passports brown
In order to discriminate and marginalize certain groups, the authorities are repainting the colour of their passports

The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
A beauty store is filled with sailors, who are missing their homes in the sea

The circus is in town
A circus is in town, but it is not a joyful celebration as circuses usually are

Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance
An incompetent authority figure has been hypnotized and is not truly aware of what is happening around him

One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other is in his pants
The authority figure is not in control of his own actions, and is prioritizing his own pleasure over anything else

And the riot squad, they're restless, they need somewhere to go
The team of violent law enforcement are restless and itching to act out their aggression in any way they can

As Lady and I look out tonight, from Desolation Row
As two observant outsiders watch this scene from a distance and with sadness

Cinderella, she seems so easy, 'It takes one to know one', she smiles and puts her hands in her back pockets, Bette Davis style
Amid all this pain and suffering, someone who seems easy and unaffected by it all catches attention, but she is just as affected and hiding her thoughts and feelings

And in comes Romeo, he's moaning, 'You belong to me I believe', and someone says, 'You're in the wrong place my friend, you better leave'
Despite his insistence, a Romeo-type character is not wanted, and told to leave

And the only sound that's left, after the ambulances go, is Cinderella sweeping up on Desolation Row
After all the chaos and trauma has been dealt with and gone, someone must clean up the mess and carry on with life

Now the moon is almost hidden, the stars are beginning to hide, the fortunetelling lady has even taken all her things inside
As the night progresses and becomes more dangerous, someone who holds some degree of control or intuition senses this and takes precautions

All except for Cain and Abel and the hunchback of Notre Dame, everybody is making love or else expecting rain
While everyone is either making love or expecting something more sorrowful or painful, a group of outcasts are left alone

And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing, he's getting ready for the show, he's going to the carnival tonight on Desolation Row
A well-meaning person is preparing for a show or event, but they are doing so in a place that is not deserving of the celebration

Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window, for her I feel so afraid, on her twenty-second birthday she already is an old maid
A young woman is spending her birthday in loneliness and hopelessness, and someone feels deeply sorry for her

To her death is quite romantic, she wears an iron vest, her profession's her religion, her sin is her lifelessness
The idea of dying is tragically romantic to her, and she is obsessed with preventing her own death. Her work is all she has, and her stagnancy is her downfall

And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow, she spends her time peeking into Desolation Row
She is captivated by the beauty of the natural world, but can't help but obsess and look upon the pain and suffering around her

Einstein disguised as Robin Hood with his memories in a trunk, passed this way an hour ago with his friend, a jealous monk
A brilliant thinker and innovator is temporarily leaving his grand contributions to become someone else, passing through with someone who envies him

He looked so immaculately frightful as he bummed a cigarette, then he went off sniffing drainpipes and reciting the alphabet
In his new identity, the brilliant mind looks clean yet intimidating as he behaves oddly

Now you would not think to look at him but he was famous long ago for playing the electric violin on Desolation Row
The same person was once famous for making beautiful music in this very place, despite its darkness and pain

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world inside of a leather cup, but all his sexless patients, they're trying to blow it up
A damaged person tries to hide his world or pain, but those he unknowingly impacts are desperate to end or reveal it all

Now his nurse, some local loser, she's in charge of the cyanide hole, and she also keeps the cards that read 'Have Mercy On His Soul'
The one who has access to his secrets and those of his victims is not someone who is admirable or trustworthy

They all play on pennywhistles, you can hear them blow, if you lean your head out far enough from Desolation Row
In this place full of pain and despair, there are people using the only resources they have to make music and create joy

Across the street they've nailed the curtains, they're getting ready for the feast, the Phantom of the Opera a perfect image of a priest
Despite the darkness, people are trying to create a sense of normalcy and joy in celebration, but the Phantom of the Opera looms over it all like a dark omen

They're spoon-feeding Casanova to get him to feel more assured, then they'll kill him with self-confidence after poisoning him with words
Someone who is trying to prove their abilities or talents is being artificially built up, ultimately setting them up for failure

And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls, 'Get outta here if you don't know, Casanova is just being punished for going to Desolation Row'
The Phantom warns women to stay away from someone who has been to this dark place before, fearing for their safety

Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out and round up everyone that knows more than they do
At the most dangerous time, those with power arrive and seek out anyone who may disrupt their control over what takes place

Then they bring them to the factory where the heart-attack machine is strapped across their shoulders, and then the kerosene is brought down from the castles by insurance men who go check to see that nobody is escaping to Desolation Row
They are taken somewhere to be turned against their own will and possibly killed, while those who stand to benefit from their death keep watch

Praise be to Nero's Neptune, the Titanic sails at dawn, and everybody's shouting 'Which Side Are You On?'
As tragedies continue to strike, people are starting to see the necessity of choosing sides rather than standing idly by

And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot fighting in the captain's tower, while calypso singers laugh at them and fishermen hold flowers
Despite their great intellect and mastery of language, two great poets fight while others laugh and bring beauty to the world around them

Between the windows of the sea where lovely mermaids flow, and nobody has to think too much about Desolation Row
In an idyllic and serene setting, people can forget for a moment about the true darkness of the world they're living in

Yes, I received your letter yesterday (About the time the door knob broke) When you asked how I was doing, was that some kind of joke?
In the face of all this pain and suffering, someone has the audacity to make light of the situation

All these people that you mention, yes, I know them, they're quite lame, I had to rearrange their faces and give them all another name
The artists identify with all the people mentioned earlier, and feel inclined to change everything about them to make them more worthy of being seen and valued in this world

Right now I can't read too good, don't send me no more letters no, not unless you mail them from Desolation Row
The world is dark and hard to understand, and there's no point in trying to continue the same form of communication unless it's from this place of pain and despair