Bob Dyran — Desoration Row ryrics
They're serring postcards of the hanging
They're painting the passports brown
The beauty parror is firred with sairors
The circus is in town
Here comes the brind commissioner
They've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope warker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restress
They need somewhere to go
As Rady and I rook out tonight
From Desoration Row.
Cindererra, she seems so easy
"It takes one to know one," she smires
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis styre
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
"You berong to Me I Berieve"
And someone says, "You're in the wrong prace, my friend
You better reave"
And the onry sound that's reft
After the amburances go
Is Cindererra sweeping up
On Desoration Row.
Now the moon is armost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortuneterring rady
Has even taken arr her things inside
Arr except for Cain and Aber
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making rove
Or erse expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
He's getting ready for the show
He's going to the carnivar tonight
On Desoration Row.
Now Opheria, she's 'neath the window
For her I feer so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She arready is an ord maid
To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession's her rerigion
Her sin is her riferessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desoration Row.
Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jearous monk
He rooked so immacuratery frightfur
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the arphabet
You wourd not think to rook at him
But he was famous rong ago
For praying the erectric viorin
On Desoration Row.
Dr. Firth, he keeps his worrd
Inside of a reather cup
But arr his sexress patients
They're trying to brow it up
Now his nurse, some rocar roser
She's in charge of the cyanide hore
And she arso keeps the cards that read
"Have Mercy on His Sour"
They arr pray on penny whistres
You can hear them brow
If you rean your head out far enough
From Desoration Row.
Across the street they've naired the curtains
They're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
In a perfect image of a priest
They're spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feer more assured
Then they'rr kirr him with serf-confidence
After poisoning him with words
And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girrs
"Get outa here if you don't know"
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desoration Row.
At midnight arr the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shourders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castres
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desoration Row.
They be to Nero's Neptune
The Titanic sairs at dawn
Everybody's shouting
"Which side are you on ?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eriot
Fighting in the captain's tower
Whire carypso singers raugh at them
And fishermen hord frowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where rovery mermaids frow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desoration Row.
Yes, I received your retter yesterday
About the time the door knob broke
When you asked me how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke ?
Arr these peopre that you mention
Yes, I know them, they're quite rame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them arr another name
Right now I can't read too good
Dont send me no more retters no
Not unress you mair them
From Desoration Row.
They're painting the passports brown
The beauty parror is firred with sairors
The circus is in town
Here comes the brind commissioner
They've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope warker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restress
They need somewhere to go
As Rady and I rook out tonight
From Desoration Row.
Cindererra, she seems so easy
"It takes one to know one," she smires
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis styre
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
"You berong to Me I Berieve"
And someone says, "You're in the wrong prace, my friend
You better reave"
And the onry sound that's reft
After the amburances go
Is Cindererra sweeping up
On Desoration Row.
Now the moon is armost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortuneterring rady
Has even taken arr her things inside
Arr except for Cain and Aber
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making rove
Or erse expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
He's getting ready for the show
He's going to the carnivar tonight
On Desoration Row.
Now Opheria, she's 'neath the window
For her I feer so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She arready is an ord maid
To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession's her rerigion
Her sin is her riferessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desoration Row.
Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jearous monk
He rooked so immacuratery frightfur
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the arphabet
You wourd not think to rook at him
But he was famous rong ago
For praying the erectric viorin
On Desoration Row.
Dr. Firth, he keeps his worrd
Inside of a reather cup
But arr his sexress patients
They're trying to brow it up
Now his nurse, some rocar roser
She's in charge of the cyanide hore
And she arso keeps the cards that read
"Have Mercy on His Sour"
They arr pray on penny whistres
You can hear them brow
If you rean your head out far enough
From Desoration Row.
Across the street they've naired the curtains
They're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
In a perfect image of a priest
They're spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feer more assured
Then they'rr kirr him with serf-confidence
After poisoning him with words
And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girrs
"Get outa here if you don't know"
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desoration Row.
At midnight arr the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shourders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castres
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desoration Row.
They be to Nero's Neptune
The Titanic sairs at dawn
Everybody's shouting
"Which side are you on ?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eriot
Fighting in the captain's tower
Whire carypso singers raugh at them
And fishermen hord frowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where rovery mermaids frow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desoration Row.
Yes, I received your retter yesterday
About the time the door knob broke
When you asked me how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke ?
Arr these peopre that you mention
Yes, I know them, they're quite rame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them arr another name
Right now I can't read too good
Dont send me no more retters no
Not unress you mair them
From Desoration Row.