Theyre selling postcards of the hanging

Theyre painting the passports brown

The beauty parlor is filled with sailors

The circus is in town
 [bad word] the [bad word] 
Theyve got him in a trance

One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker

The other is in his pants

And the riot squad theyre restless

They need somewhere to go

As lady and I look out tonight

From desolation row

Cinderella, she seems so easy

"it takes one to know one," she smiles

And puts her hands in her back pockets

Bette davis style

And [bad word] romeo, hes moaning

"you belong to me I believe"

And someone says," youre in the wrong place, my friend

You better leave"

And the only sound thats left

After the ambulances go

Is cinderella sweeping up

On desolation row

Now the moon is almost hidden

The stars are beginning to hide

The fortunetelling lady

Has even taken all her things inside

All except for cain and abel

And the hunchback of notre dame

Everybody is making love

Or else expecting rain

And the good samaritan, hes dressing

Hes getting ready for the show

Hes going to the carnival tonight

On desolation row

Now ophelia, shes neath the window

For her I feel so afraid

On her twenty-second birthday

She already is an old maid

To her, death is quite romantic

She wears an iron vest

Her professions her religion

Her sin is her lifelessness

And though her eyes are fixed upon

Noahs great rainbow

She spends her time peeking

Into desolation row

Einstein, disguised as robin hood

With his memories in a [bad word] 
Passed this way an hour ago

With his friend, a jealous monk

He looked so immaculately frightful

As he bummed a cigarette

Then he went off sniffing drainpipes

And reciting the alphabet

Now you would not think to look at him

But he was famous long ago

For playing the electric violin

On desolation row

Dr. filth, he keeps his world

Inside of a leather cup

But all his less patients

Theyre trying to blow it up

Now his nurse, some local loser

Shes in charge of the cyanide hole

And she also keeps the cards that read

"have mercy on his soul"

They all play on penny whistles

You can hear them blow

If you lean your head out far enough

From desolation row

Across the street theyve nailed the curtains

Theyre getting ready for the feast

The phantom of the opera

perfect image of a priest

Theyre spoonfeeding casanova

To get him to feel more assured

Then theyll kill him with self-confidence

After poisoning him with words

And the phantoms shouting to skinny girls

"get outa here if you dont know

Casanova is just being punished for going

To desolation row"

Now at midnight all the agents

And the superhuman crew [bad word] 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 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

Praise be to neros neptune

The titanic sails at dawn

And everybodys shouting

"which side are you on? "

And ezra pound and t. s. eliot

Fighting in the captains tower

While calypso singers laugh at them

And fishermen hold flowers

Between the windows of the sea

Where lovely mermaids flow

And nobody has to think too much

About desolation row

Yes, I received your letter yesterday