| Bob Dylan – Desolation Row Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The following is my interpretation of Desolation Row by Bob Dylan. I view this song to be Bob Dylan’s crowning achievement in songwriting. The question could be asked ‘Why should Desolation Row should be given special consideration among the many classics that Dylan composed?’ The answer to this question is that Desolation Row moves beyond the poetic folk anthem (which it certainly is) in becoming an apocalyptic epic poem in the tradition of the modernist literary movement. Although many of Dylan’s best songs are poetic, few contain the depth of metaphor, and none contain the carefully structured depth and allusions of Desolation Row. Both through its lyrics and through its structure it resembles the writings of the epic poems of the modernism movement, and it is no coincidence that both T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound are alluded to during the course of the song. T.S. Eliot once wrote: “Poems should communicate before they are understood.” This is precisely what Bob Dylan does in Desolation Row. Desolation Row perhaps most closely resembles T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. In this poem, Eliot comments on what he sees to be a world in social and cultural decline in response to the horrors of World War I. The structure of Eliot’s masterpiece is broken into five highly metaphorical segments, each portraying a different scene. Eliot, working in the modernist tradition, requires the reader to interpret the text that is laced with metaphors and strewn with cultural and literary allusions. Eliot expected the reader to struggle with making sense of the piece, and counted on fact that a meaningful interpretation of the poem required immersion of hundreds of the classic texts of western culture. Although Dylan does not seem to share Eliot’s elitist vision for poetry and the arts, he was highly educated, he clearly read Eliot and Pound, he uses metaphoric allusion in Desolation Row, and he was reacting against what he saw to be a troubled society mirroring Eliot’s own reaction against his society. Like Eliot in The Waste Land, Dylan tells of a world in confusion. Dylan portrays the world through metaphors, and reacts against the flawed philosophies in the world that are held out as panaceas (i.e. materialism, religion, and science), and calls for a new enlightenment or awareness, through the use of a number of unrelated scenes that each reinforce his central theme. I believe the ‘Desolation Row’ that Dylan refers to in the song is actually a metaphor for an enlightened state of mind or awareness of the world as it is, not as it is presented through the false lenses of religion or science. ‘Desolation Row’ is clearly represented as a place that some characters are at, “peeking into”, “trying to escape to”, or are “punished for going to.” However, this place should be seen as more than a physical place, and seen as a new state of mind, or way of thinking. It also should be clear that this state of mind, while enlightening, carries burdens with it. For Dylan, it appears that seeing the truth is not necessarily a ticket to happiness. In fact, the truth is often highly troubling. Dylan suggests that seeing reality as it really is, or reaching ‘Desolation Row’, is necessary to avoid impending disaster, but that it can be depressing because it involves the realization that many of the things that we have believed in or sought after are actually not the panaceas they appeared to be. This can be seen in the first verse by Cinderella’s cynical response to the speaker saying “it takes one to know one.” Clearly Cinderella is no longer waiting for Prince Charming, but instead is taking matters in her own hands. She flirts rather than remaining passive and waiting for Prince Charming. The romantic conception of Cinderella is somehow perverted, and she has a new awareness of the world as she is left “sweeping up on Desolation Row’. The ideal image of romance is defeated, and there will be no storybook ending, but life goes on as she sweeps up the mess. Romeo enters and again is challenged by a speaker. Romeo, like Cinderella, also is in the wrong place because he also represents ideal notions of romance. Rather than speaking sweetly in verse he moans and chases Cinderella, rather than Juliet as he should. Things are not as they should be according to ideals. Conventions are being upset. ‘Desolation Row’ is not place where conventional endings are brought off, instead it is a place where there are recognitions of harsh realities. Romeo either cannot understand this or cannot accept this. He promptly takes the speakers advice and leaves by committing suicide, hence the sound of the ambulances. Romeo is an example of how there are painful realizations that come with the enlightenment found at ‘Desolation Row’. The third verse gives a clear warning of what is to come if society continues on its current path. The “moon is almost hidden” and “the stars are beginning to hide.” This foreshadows a storm, which is a metaphor for the problems the world will encounter on its present course. “The fortune telling lady has even taken all her things inside” because she recognizes the pending storm/disaster. Those who are paying attention are taking precautions and shielding themselves from the coming problems. Cain and Able are not because they are too busy being involved in conflict to notice. This is brother against brother. It also may allude to war or conflict generally. Everyone else is “making love, or else expecting rain” because they are either too involved in their lives “making love” (or seeking personal gratification) to notice or see the storm brewing or “else expecting rain”, i.e. the fortune telling lady, and they are running from the coming storm. “The Good Samaritan” from the Biblical parable who represents the good, wise, and just person who is generally spat upon by society is getting ready for the carnival that he is going to attend on Desolation Row. The Good Samaritan is going to go into the approaching storm and deal with it in some way. Perhaps this suggests we should too, if we are doing the right thing. Rather than not realizing the problem, or running from it, we should acknowledge it and deal with it in some way. The fourth verse tells us about Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover in Hamlet. Ophelia hopes that Hamlet will marry her, but it is not going to happen. Ophelia’s peeking into Desolation reveals that marriage to Hamlet is impossible and she contemplates suicide. It also may suggest that her religious beliefs do not provide the answers she always believed. The “iron vest” she wears symbolizes enclosure, as well as her fate; she drowns herself in a river in Hamlet. Ophelia clings to hope symbolized through “Noah’s great rainbow” that represented God’s promise to man that he would not bring another great flood. It may symbolize hope through Hamlet’s promise to marry Ophelia, as well symbolize the hope of her religious beliefs. The problem for Ophelia is that the promises don’t add up with reality as she sees it when she peeks into true reality on Desolation Row. This verse also develops a theme of sin and dealing with sin. Ophelia breaks God’s law by having premarital sex with Hamlet. This guilt weighs heavy on her throughout Hamlet. This problem is subtly suggested by the phrase “her profession’s her religion, her sin is her lifelessness.” Ophelia’s only profession prostituting herself to Hamlet. The verse hints at the church’s inability to successfully address man’s problems in reality, a topic that will be revisited later. Things don’t look good for Ophelia, she contemplates her fate, while we know what will happen to her. Ophelia is another example of how Desolation Row can be destructive as well as enlightening. The fifth verse brings in a discussion of the failings of modern science to resolve society’s problems. “Einsten disguised as Robin Hood” symbolizes modern science’s attempt or tendency to be hailed as the answer in our times. Robin Hood is the classic hero, while in addition, it is not insignificant to note that he ‘stole from the rich and gave to the poor.’ His friend the “jealous monk” symbolizes religion, Christianity, or perhaps more specifically Catholicism. Religion is jealous of science. Science has gradually replaced religion as the relied upon source for explaining the world’s problems. In the metaphor, science gets to play the hero, while religion merely tags along trying to keep up. The “memories in a trunk” may represent the past scientific tradition where science actually contributed to man’s enlightenment. However, now these times are in the past. Today, science “looks immaculately frightful” suggesting the potential dangers that science offers the world. The ‘He’ in this verse, goes off acting like a bum, rather than a hero, by “bumming cigarettes”, “sniffing drainpipes”, and stating its dogmatic findings in “reciting the alphabet.” It is unclear whether the ‘he’ is referring to “Einstein disguised as Robin Hood” or the “jealous monk”, but in either case the speaker suggests that he sees the flaws of science or religion, not the idealic image that they would like us to see. The speaker comments “you would not think to look at him that he was famous long ago, for playing the electric violin on Desolation Row.” This suggests that you would not by looking at science or religion today that once it did a great deal in contributing to man’s enlightenment. The music of the electric violin on Desolation Row is a metaphor for something contributing to enlightenment. This verse clearly leaves us with the impression that science and religion will not resolve all of society’s problems. The sixth verse is a fairly nebulous verse. Dr. Filth is a reference to an actual holocaust official who cut off the genitals of patients and put them in a pouch made of skin. Presumably, ‘the world’ inside the cup represents the perverted worldview of Dr. Filth. The victims are trying to blow it up in order to defeat a morally bankrupt reality, but of course they will fail because they do not have the power to do it. “The nurse, some local loser” represents the common average person who collaborates with something that is wrong, rather than standing up to it. The nurse aids Dr. Filth, rather than standing up to what is wrong. The nurse “keeps the cards that read ‘have mercy on your soul’”, rather than playing them. The nurse has the ability to take a stand, to ease pain, but chooses not to out of self-interest. The verse ends with another reference to Desolation Row as a place of awareness, suggested that you can hear the music ‘if you lean your head out far enough on Desolation Row’ The seventh verse talks about “the agents” and the “superhuman crew”, probably references to agents of the establishment and religious leaders, “rounding up everyone that knows more than they do” and punishing them. The instruments of punishment are “brought down from the castles” which seems almost like feudal imagery, the establishment attempting to control the masses. The insurance men, are those making sure that “no one is escaping to Desolation Row”. This suggests once again, that Desolation Row is a place (or more precisely a state of mind) where people learn the truth about the world, which is dangerous to the establishment that benefits from people buying into the status quo. The eighth verse gives us the images of unpredictability and impeding doom on our present course. Nero was the insane Roman Emporer. Neptune was the changeable god of the sea. The Titanic, the ship destined to sink, is sailing on these unpredictable waters. The people on the Titanic (society today), are too busy worried about their position on the sinking vessel to take notice of the bigger picture, until it is too late. Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot were two modernist poets who wrestled with the problems of their time and tried metaphorically through their poetry to call for the enlightenment of the masses to address the problems of a harsh reality. Desolation Row in many ways mirrors key works of T.S. Eliot or Ezra Pound, especially T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland. These visionary poets (who may or may not have all the answers) are fighting for control of the sinking vessel, while everyone else is oblivious to the situation. While Dylan mirrors the style of Eliot or Pound in this poem, he does not have the elitist bent of them. He may, in fact, be taking a jab at these poets by suggesting they are on the Titanic and too busy fighting over which elitist apocalyptic metaphor for society is correct to be helpful in finding a solution. Regardless, what is clear is that nobody is thinking about going to Desolation Row (or gaining true awareness) because they are too distracted by what is going on in their lives. In the final verse, the speaker addresses an unnamed person saying that he received a letter from the person yesterday, “about the time the door knob broke”. The door knob represents the way out of Desolation Row, they way back to the conventional way of thinking, the way not concerned with the new awareness of reality. Now that the door knob broke, there is no going back to the conventional way of thinking. “When you asked me how I was doing, was that some kind of joke?” shows a general disdain for the conventional unenlightened way of thinking. The speaker is not interested in how he is doing according to the conventional way of thinking. The speaker is struggling with all of the problems of the world, and likely isn’t feeling too good about things, but above all else, he is uninterested in how he is doing in the conventional way of defining well-being. “And all these people that you mention, yes I know them they’re quite lame” also refers to this change in the speaker’s priorities. The speaker does not care how people are doing in the conventional way of thinking (whether they bought a new car or house, or are happy according to the conventional way of thinking, etc.). “I had to rearrange their faces, and give them all another name” may be a veiled reference to including them in the ideas found in the song. “Right now, I can’t read too good, don’t send me no more letters, no” refers to the fact that the speaker doesn’t want to hear any more about the concerns of the conventional way of thinking about life. He’s not interested, his perspective has changed, it’s no longer relevant to him. “Not unless you mail them from Desolation Row” means that the speaker is only listening to the enlightened perspective or awareness found in the state of mind of Desolation Row. It suggests that the writer has the ability to go to Desolation Row himself if he wants to. It hints at the spiritual journey that the speaker thinks people need to take to get to Desolation Row. |
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