desolation row
Robyn Hitchcock Lyrics

They're selling postcards of the hanging
People are profiting by selling postcards of executions.

They're painting the passports brown
The government is rebranding or changing the passports for unknown reasons.

The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
Unusual groups of people are congregating in various places of the town.

The circus is in town
The circus has arrived for performances.

Here comes the blind commissioner
Someone in charge is blind to what's really happening.

They've got him in a trance
The blind commissioner is not aware of the reality and is being controlled.

One hand is tied to the tightrope walker, The other is in his pants
He's in a precarious situation, and he's either enjoying it or doing something shameful.

And the riot squad they're restless, They need somewhere to go
The riot squad has nothing to control, and their energized state is causing them to get restless.

As Lady and I look out tonight, From Desolation Row
Watching all of this happen from the vantage point of Desolation Row.

Cinderella, she seems so easy, "It takes one to know one," she smiles
Someone appears effortless, but in reality, they know the struggle that someone has to go through.

And puts her hands in her back pockets, Bette Davis style
She is acting like Bette Davis, putting her hands in pockets and intuitively knowing things.

And in comes Romeo, he's moaning, "You Belong to Me I Believe"
Someone strongly believes that they possess ownership over another person.

And someone says, "You're in the wrong place, my friend, You better leave."
An unwelcomed visitor is told that it's time to leave as they are in the wrong place.

Is Cinderella sweeping up, On Desolation Row
Cinderella cleans up the mess on Desolation Row after a commotion.

Now the moon is almost hidden, The stars are beginning to hide
The environment has shifted where even the stars are hiding.

The fortunetelling lady, Has even taken all her things inside
The fortunetelling lady takes everything inside because of the situation outside.

All except for Cain and Abel, And the hunchback of Notre Dame
People who one doesn't expect to be affected are outside in this environment.

Everybody is making love, Or else expecting rain
People are either hopeful or frisky in mere anticipation.

And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing, He's getting ready for the show
Someone seems good on the surface but is preparing for another event.

He's going to the carnival tonight, On Desolation Row
Someone is going to the carnival on Desolation Row.

Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window, For her I feel so afraid. On her twenty-second birthday, She already is an old maid
Ophelia, who is barely old enough, is considered 'old maid' already, which is a sad situation.

To her, death is quite romantic, She wears an iron vest
Ophelia is romanticizing death, and she wears an iron vest to protect herself.

Her profession's her religion, Her sin is her lifelessness
Her profession means the world to her, but it seems to stifle her.

And though her eyes are fixed upon, Noah's great rainbow
Ophelia is fixated on something with intense hope and expectation.

She spends her time peeking, Into Desolation Row
Ophelia is spending her time looking into Desolation Row.

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood, With his memories in a trunk
Someone of great intelligence in disguise, carrying a crate full of memories.

Passed this way an hour ago, With his friend, a jealous monk
Einstein and a companion, who is envious, passed this way not long ago.

He looked so immaculately frightful, As he bummed a cigarette
He looked like a horror version of himself while he dejectedly smoked.

Then he went off sniffing drainpipes, And reciting the alphabet
He acted as if he was high, sniffing drainpipes, and reciting the alphabetical order.

Now you would not think to look at him, But he was famous long ago
Although he doesn't look famous, he was famous in the past.

For playing the electric violin, On Desolation Row
He was famous for playing the electric violin down Desolation Row.

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world, Inside of a leather cup
Dr. Filth keeps his world inside of a cup, which acts as a metaphor.

But all his sexless patients, They're trying to blow it up
All the patients of Dr. Filth are trying to destroy that world, which he has created.

Now his nurse, some local loser, She's in charge of the cyanide hole
The nurse, who is a local and considered a loser, looks after the cyanide hole.

And she also keeps the cards that read, "Have Mercy on His Soul"
She also keeps the cards that ask for mercy on someone's soul.

They all play on penny whistles, You can hear them blow
People play penny whistles, and the sound echoes everywhere.

If you lean your head out far enough, From Desolation Row
If someone protrudes their head out enough from Desolation Row, they'll listen to these penny whistles.

Across the street they've nailed the curtains, They're getting ready for the feast
People have nailed the curtains, and they're preparing for the feast on the street.

The Phantom of the Opera, A perfect image of a priest
A villainous character presents himself as the perfect image of a priest, like the Phantom of the Opera.

They're spoonfeeding Casanova, To get him to feel more assured
They feed Casanova spoon by spoon to make him confident.

Then they'll kill him with self-confidence, After poisoning him with words
They will kill him with his ego, but using poisonous statements to build him up.

And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls, "Get Outa Here If You Don't Know, Casanova is just being punished for going, To Desolation Row!"
The Phantom orders skinny girls to leave if they don't know someone. He is punishing Casanova for coming to Desolation Row.

Now at midnight all the agents, And the superhuman crew, Come out and round up everyone, That knows more than they do
At midnight, the agents and those with exceptional abilities come out and take away anyone who may know more than they do.

Then they bring them to the factory, Where the heart-attack machine, Is strapped across their shoulders, And then the kerosene
They take them to a factory where a heart-attack machine is strapped to their shoulders to torture them, followed by kerosene.

Is brought down from the castles, By insurance men who go, Check to see that nobody is escaping, To Desolation Row
Kerosene is brought across from the castles by insurance personnel who ensure that no one is running away to Desolation Row.

Praise be to Nero's Neptune, The Titanic sails at dawn
Praise be to the god of the sea, Neptune, as the Titanic sets off before dawn.

And everybody's shouting, "Which Side Are You On?"
People are yelling for others to indicate where they stand in respect to something.

And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot, Fighting in the captain's tower
Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot are fighting while in a position of power.

While calypso singers laugh at them, And fishermen hold flowers
Calypso singers mock them, while fishermen hold flowers in their hands.

Between the windows of the sea, Where lovely mermaids flow
Between the windows of the sea, aesthetic mermaids exist.

And nobody has to think too much, About Desolation Row
Nobody has to think much of Desolation Row at this point as it is what it is.

Yes, I received your letter yesterday, (About the time the door knob broke)
The artist received a letter yesterday. The timing was close to the door knob breaking.

When you asked how I was doing, Was that some kind of joke?
The artist questions the motive behind the inquiry of how they are.

All these people that you mention, Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
The singer knows all of the people who were mentioned, and they aren't very interesting.

I had to rearrange their faces, And give them all another name
So, they decided to reimagine them and grant them new identities.

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 artist is not in the right frame of mind to receive letters because of their surroundings. They only want more letters from Desolation Row.