Bob Dylan - Desolation Row Lyrics Meaning

Desolation Row is a song about the inhumanity mankind. The whimsical lines allow for many interpretations, but I see threads of continuity.

The first verse is the most difficult to understand because many people are unaware of the incident to which it refers. It is about the 1920 lynching of three negroes in Duluth, witnessed by 8 year old Abram Zimmerman, Bob Dylan’s father. A brief accounting can be found at My line by line interpretation follows.

“They're selling postcards of the hanging”
This lynching was notorious for the sale of picture postcards memorializing the misdeed.

“they’re painting the passports brown”
U.S Steel, the largest employer in the region had fostered racial strife by actively recruiting black laborers from southern states to replace higher paid white union workers.

“The beauty parlor is filled with sailors”
When World War I began many of Duluth’s young men enlisted in the Navy. After the war ended they returned home as war heroes but after a few years their status faded. By 1920 many had been displaced by blacks and there were a lot of unemployed sailors complaining about their situation.

“the circus is in town”
The John Robinson Circus, a traveling circus with several black employees had arrived in Duluth.

“Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker, the other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restless, they need somewhere to go”
This refers to William Murian, the Commissioner of Public Safety in charge of the police and other city departments. When the lynch mob began to grow he ordered the police not to use they’re weapons to defend the accused prisoners and rejected using nearby military troops to quell the riot. Although responsible for public safety, his position was elective and he didn’t want to jeopardize his re-election.

In the second verse, Cinderella is Joseph Stalin and Romeo is Adolph Hitler. Hitler considered the USSR an easy target and both men were ruthless tyrants. The reference to Bette Davis style, an actress that usually played an evil person, further strengthens this point. Romeo and Cinderella agreed to invade Poland starting World War II. Romeo then invaded the USSR thinking it could be easily conquered. At the conclusion of World War II Romero was gone but Cinderella remained in power.

I believe the third verse refers to the cold war and MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). At the time this song was written the future looked bleak. Bomb shelters were popular and there were frequent civil defense drills. Abel, Cain, and the hunchback of Notre Dame probably refer to the leaders of the three nuclear powers, Lyndon Johnson (USA), Nikita Khrushecv (USSR), and Mao Zedong (Red China). Everyone is hoping MAD will keep the peace but know the threat of nuclear Armageddon is real. I am unsure whom the Good Samaritan refers to.

The fourth verse is about nuclear missiles. Ophelia, an insane suicidal character, is an ICBM. She’s kept in missile silos, out of sight but greatly feared. In 1965 nuclear weapon development was only 22 years old but these weapons were considered unusable. Ophelia’s mysticism is her awesome ability for death and mass destruction. This is her job but is also why she cannot be used. She keeps the peace (Noah’s rainbow) out of fear but could still be unleashed by a madman, destroying all life on earth.

The fifth verse is about the developers of nuclear weapons. Einstein is most likely Albert Einstein. Although his scientific research was admirable with no hostile intent, the knowledge obtained was used to create nuclear weapons. I believe the jealous monk is Robert Oppenheimer, referring to his association of the first nuclear explosion with a verse from the Bhagavad Gita. Additional clues supporting Einstein as representing himself are his disheveled appearance, reciting the alphabet (his energy formula which is the basis for a nuclear explosion), and the fact he was a pipe smoker that loved playing the violin.

The sixth verse is about Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp. Dr. Filth is Josef Mengele, the sadistic doctor that performed heinous human experiments and selected the victims for the cyanide gas chambers. He is known for making leather articles using human skin. His nurse represents the local collaborators and/or the Sonderkommandos. The penny whistles refer to the railway whistles announcing the arrival of another trainload of victims.

The seventh verse is about the Holodomor and other famines resulting from the Soviet Union’s collective farming program. Behind the iron curtain the Soviet leaders (Phantom of the Opera) mask their goal to increase grain production for export using the forced labor of the peasants (Casanova). To accomplish this they use propaganda to convince Casanova he is the beneficiary of their plan. Instead of growing his own food, his crops are taken by the Phantom for redistribution. When the Phantom’s quotas are not met Casanova is blamed for the shortfall leaving him and his children to starve to death.

The eighth verse is about the establishment forces that keep the status quo. Politicians employ government agencies and secret police to maintain their power. Corporate officials maintain their profitable positions by setting high quotas, keeping their minions working overtime in stressful but unfulfilling jobs. By keeping the masses busy no one has time to challenge the status quo.

The ninth verse is a summary of the current state of affairs (in 1965). World leaders are fiddling around ignoring the impending doom. It really doesn’t matter which side of the conflict you support or what your idealistic views are if everyone is destroyed in the upcoming battle. The black calypso singers have always been oppressed and don’t see they have much to lose. The religious (fishermen) pray for peace but accomplish nothing. The entire earth is endangered, not just one or two continents. Even the most beautiful and tranquil areas will be destroyed.

In the last verse Bob speaks for himself. Nuclear Armageddon almost became a reality via the Cuban missile crisis (when the doorknob broke). He is dismayed that anyone can ignore the dire fate of mankind. He also provides clues about the meaning of this song, acknowledging playful terms were used to mask the appalling events the song describes.

This song requires a lot of thought and research to decipher its message. That is what makes it such a masterpiece!