C

Dm7

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

C/e

F

G

You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?

C

Dm7

C/e

People 'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"

F

G

You thought they were all kiddin' you

F

G

You used to laugh about

F

G

Everybody that was hangin' out

F

C/e

Dm7

C

Now you don't talk so loud

F

C/e

Dm7

C

Now you don't seem so proud

Dm

F

G

About having to be scrounging for your next meal

C

F

G

How does it feel? How does it feel? To be without a home? Like a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone? You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely But you know you only used to get juiced in it And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it You said you'd never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And say do you want to make a deal? How does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own? With no direction home? Like a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone? You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns When they all come down and did tricks for you You never understood that it ain't no good You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat Ain't it hard when you discover that He really wasn't where it's at After he took from you everything he could steal How does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own? With no direction home? Like a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone? Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made Exchanging all precious gifts But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal How does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own? With no direction home? Like a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone?

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

Capo:

IV

D

/c

G/b

D

The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course

D

/c

G/b

D

The city fathers they're trying to endorse

D

/c

G/b

D

The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse

D

G/b

D

But the town has no need to be nervous The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits To Jezebel the nun she violently knits A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits At the head of the chamber of commerce

G

D

Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes

G

D

Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food

G

D

I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues The hysterical bride in the penny arcade Screaming she moans, "I've just been made" Then sends out for the doctor who pulls down the shade Says, "My advice is to not let the boys in" Now the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride "Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride You will not die, it's not poison" Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief Is there a hole for me to get sick in?" The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly Saying, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry" And dropping a bar-bell he points to the sky Saying, "The sun's not yellow it's chicken" Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues The king of the Philistines his soldiers to save Puts jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves Then sends them out to the jungle Gypsy Davey with a blowtorch he burns out their camps With his faithful slave Pedro behind him he tramps With a fantastic collection of stamps To win friends and influence his uncle Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food I'm in trouble with the tombstone blues The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone Causes Galileo's math book to get thrown At Delilah who's sitting worthlessly alone But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill I would set him in chains at the top of the hill Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille He could die happily ever after Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues Where Ma Rainey and Beethoven once unwrapped their bed-roll Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul To the old folks home and the college Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain That could hold you dear lady from going insane That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain Of your useless and pointless knowledge Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for the fuse I'm in the streets with the tombstone blues

D

/c

G/b

D

The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course

D

/c

G/b

D

The city fathers they are planning to endorse

D

/c

G/b

D

The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse

A

Asus4

D

But the town has no need to be nervous The blacksmith and the boy scout, after torturing a thief Looking up at their hero the Commander-in-Chief The Commander-in-Chief answers while pounding a fly With a thousand dollar collection of stamps The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone Keeps Galileo busy while his math book gets thrown In lazy Delilah's lap, who sits worthlessly alone Yet the tears on her cheeks are from laughter Of your pointless and useless knowledge

Capo:

I

Harp:

C

[or

Db

with capo] (cross)

G

C/g

G

C/g

----|---------3-------------3-|--

----|---------1-------------1-|--

----|-------0---0-----------0-|-- etc

----|-0---0-2---2-0---0-2---2-|--

--0-|-2---2-x---x-2---2-x---x-|--

--0-|-3---3-3---3-3---3-3---3-|--

G

C/g

G

C/g

Well, I ride on a mail-train, baby

G7

C/g

G

C/g

G

C/g

G

Can't buy a thrill

C/g

G

C/g

G

C/g

Well, I've been up all night

G

C/g

G

Leanin' on the windowsill

G

G7/f

Well, if I die

C/e

D

Dsus4

D

On top of the hill

G

C/g

G

C/g

And if I don't make it

G

C/g

G

C/g

G

You know my baby will Don't the moon look good, mama Shinin' through the trees? Don't the brakeman look good, mama Flagging down the "Double E"? Don't the sun look good Goin' down over the sea? Don't my gal look fine When she's comin' after me? Now the wintertime is coming The windows are filled with frost I went to tell everybody But I could not get across Well, I wanna be your lover, baby I don't wanna be your boss Don't say I never warned you When your train gets lost

Don't the moon look good, mama Shinin' down through the trees? Don't the ghost-child look good, baby Sittin' on his madman's knee? Don't the sun look good Goin' down over the sea? Don't my gal look fine When she's comin' after me? Well I just been to the baggage-car Where the engineer's been tossed I stamp out 40 compasses Sure don't know what they cost Well, I wanna be your lover, baby I don't wanna be your boss I can't help it none If this train gets lost

Capo:

III

Harp:

D

[or

F

with capo] (cross)

A

I got this graveyard woman, you know she keeps my kid But my soulful mama, you know she keeps me hid

D

A

She's a junkyard angel and she always gives me bread

E

A

Well, if I go down dyin', you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed Well, when the pipeline gets broken and I'm lost on the river bridge I'm cracked up on the highway and on the water's edge She comes down the throughway ready to sew me up with thread Well, if I go down dyin', you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed Well, she don't make me nervous, she don't talk too much She walks like Bo Diddley and she don't need no crutch She keeps this four-ten all loaded with lead Well, if I go down dyin', you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed Well, you know I need a steam shovel mama to keep away the dead I need a dump truck mama to unload my head She brings me everything and more, and just like I said Well, if I go down dyin', you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed She don't make me nervous, she don't talk too much She walks like Rimbaud and she don't need no crutch

Am

/g#

You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand

/g

/f#

You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"

F

Dm

You try so hard but you don't understand

C

Em

Am

Just what you will say when you get home

C

Em

Because something is happening here

Am

F

Am

But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones? You raise up your head and you ask, "Is this where it is?" And somebody points to you and says "It's his" And you say, "What's mine?" and somebody else says, "Where what is?" And you say, "Oh my God am I here all alone?" Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones? You hand in your ticket and you go watch the geek Who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak And says, "How does it feel to be such a freak?" And you say, "Impossible" as he hands you a bone Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?

Am

C

You have many contacts among the lumberjacks

F

Am

To get you facts when someone attacks your imagination

Am

C

But nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect you

F

Dm

G

(

/g#

) To just give a check to tax-deductible charity organisations You've been with the professors and they've all liked your looks With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books You're very well read, it's well known Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones? Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you and then he kneels He crosses himself and then he clicks his high heels And without further notice he asks you how it feels And he says, "Here is your throat back, thanks for the loan" Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones? Now you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word "Now" And you say, "For what reason?" and he says, "How?" And you say, "What does this mean?" and he screams back, "You're a cow Give me some milk or else go home" Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones? Well, you walk into the room like a camel and then you frown You put your eyes in your pocket and your nose on the ground There ought to be a law against you comin' around You should be made to wear earphones Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?

You walk in so politely and ask, "Is this where it is?" With great lawyers and scholars you have discussed lepers and crooks And without further notice he tells you how it feels Yes, and now you're positive something's happening And you wish you knew what it was Don't you, Mr Jones? You should be made to be wearing at all times a telephone Next time you do, please remember to telephone

Am

E+

You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand

C/g

D9

You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"

F

Dm

You try so hard but you don't understand

Am

Em

Am

Am

Am

Dm

Am

Just what you're gonna say when you get home

C

Em/b

Something is happening

Am

C/g

But you don't know what it is

F

Dm

Am

Am

Am

Dm

Am

Do you, Mister Jones? You sneak in through the window and you say, "Is this where it is?" You crawl into the room like a camel and then you frown

No one has any respect Seems to be some kind of disconnect

Capo:

V

Harp:

C

[or

F

with capo] (straight)

| | | | | |

C

Bm

Am

G

Gsus4

G

When your mother sends back all your invitations

C

Bm

Am

D

/c

/b

/a

And your father to your sister he explains

G

C

G

/g

/f#

/f

Em

That you're tired of yourself and all of your creations

G/d

C/d

G

C

Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

G

C/d

G

Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Now when all of the flower ladies want back what they have lent you And the smell of their roses does not remain And all of your children start to resent you Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Now when all the clowns that you have commissioned Have died in battle or in vain And you're sick of all this repetition Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? When all of your advisers heave their plastic At your feet to convince you of your pain Trying to prove that your conclusions should be more drastic Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Now when all the bandits that you turned your other cheek to All lay down their bandanas and complain And you want somebody you don't have to speak to Won't you come see me, Queen Jane? Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

And when all of your advisors start to regret you And you cannot convince them of your pain And you want someone to protect you Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

A

Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son" Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on" God say, "No," Abe say, "What?" God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but

D7

A

The next time you see me comin' you better run"

E7

Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"

A

God says, "Out on Highway 61!" Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes He asked poor Howard where can I go Howard said there's only one place I know Sam said tell me quick man I got to run Ol' Howard just pointed with his gun And said that way down on Highway 61! Well Mack the Finger said to Louie the King I got forty red white and blue shoe strings And a thousand telephones that don't ring Do you know where I can get rid of these things And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son And he said yes I think it can be easily done Just take everything down to Highway 61! Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night Told the first father that things weren't right My complexion she said is much too white He said come here and step into the light He says hmm, you're right, let me tell the second mother this has been done But the second mother was with the seventh son And they were both out on Highway 61! Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored He was tryin' to create a next world war He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before But yes I think it can be very easily done We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun And have it on Highway 61!

| | | |

G

C/g

G

When you're lost in the rain in Juarez and it's Easter time too

G

C/g

G

/g

/a

/b

And your gravity fails and negativity don't pull you through

C

G

Don't put on any airs when you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue

D

G

They got some hungry women there and they really make a mess outta you Now if you see Saint Annie, please tell her thanks a lot I cannot move, my fingers are all in a knot I don't have the strength to get up and take another shot And my best friend, my doctor, won't even say what it is I've got Sweet Melinda, the peasants call her the goddess of gloom She speaks good English and she invites you up into her room And you're so kind, and careful not to go to her too soon And she takes your voice and leaves you howling at the moon Up on Housing Project Hill, it's either fortune or fame You must pick one or the other, though neither of them are to be what they claim If you're lookin' to get silly, you better go back to from where you came Because the cops don't need you, and man they expect the same Now all the authorities, they just stand around and boast How they blackmailed the sergeant-at-arms into leaving his post And picking up Angel who just arrived here from the coast Who looked so fine at first, but left looking just like a ghost I started out on burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuff Everybody said they'd stand behind me when the game got rough But the joke was on me, there was nobody even there to call my bluff I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I've had enough

Tuning: CADGBE (Drop C)

Capo:

IV

Harp:

C

[or

E

with capo] (straight)

C

F

C

F

C

They're selling postcards of the hanging, they're painting the passports brown

G

F

C

The beauty parlor is filled with sailors, the circus is in town

C

F

C

Here comes the blind commissioner, they've got him in a trance

G

F

C

One hand is tied to the tightrope walker, the other is in his pants

F

C

F

And the riot squad they're restless, they need somewhere to go

C

G

F

C

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 in comes Romeo, he's moaning: "You belong to me I believe" And someone says, "You're in the wrong place, my friend, you'd better leave" And the only sound that's 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 fortune-telling 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, he's dressing, he's getting ready for the show He's going to the carnival tonight 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 To her, death is quite romantic, she wears an iron vest Her profession is her religion, her sin is her lifelessness And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow She spends her time peeking into Desolation Row Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood, with his memories in a trunk 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 sexless patients, they're trying to blow it up Now his nurse, some local loser, she's 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 they've nailed the curtains, they're getting ready for the feast The Phantom of the Opera in the perfect image of a priest They're spoon-feeding Casanova to get him to feel more assured Then they'll kill him with self-confidence after poisoning him with words And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls: "Get outta here if you don't know Casanova is just being punished for going 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 Then they bring them to the factory, where the heartattack 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 Nero's Neptune, the Titanic sails at dawn And everybody's shouting: "Which Side Are You On?" And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot, fighting in the captain's 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 about the time the doorknob broke When you asked how I was doing, was that some kind of joke? All these people that you mention, yes I know them, they're quite lame I had to rearrange their faces and give them all another name Right now I can't read too good, don't send me no more letters no Not unless you mail them from Desolation Row

Across the street they've closed the curtains, they're getting ready for the feast The Phantom of the Opera, a perfect image of a priest Now he's spoon-feeding Casanova the boiled guts of birds Then he'll torture him with self-confidence and poison him with words And the Phantom shouts to skinny girls: "Get out if you don't know Casanova is just being punished for going to Desolation Row"