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Desolation Row chords by Bob Dylan (Official Version)

GuitarPianoUkulele

E
A
B

Intro 1

Verse 1
E 
They're selling  (E major) postcards of the hanging,
A 
E 
they're  (A major) painting the passports brown  (E major) 
B 
The  (B major) beauty parlor is filled with sailors,
A 
E 
 (A major) the circus is in town  (E major) 
E 
 (E major) Here comes the blind commissioner,
A 
E 
they've  (A major) got him in a trance  (E major) 
B 
One hand  (B major) is tied to the tight-rope walker,
A 
E 
 (A major) the other is in his pants  (E major) 
A 
And the  (A major) riot squad they're restless,
E 
A 
they  (E major) need somewhere to  (A major) go
E 
B 
As  (E major) Lady and I look  (B major) out tonight, from
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

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Verse 2
E 
Cinde (E major) rella, she seems so easy,
A 
E 
"It  (A major) takes one to know one," she  (E major) smiles
B 
And  (B major) puts her hands in her back pockets
A 
E 
 (A major) Bette Davis style  (E major) 
E 
And  (E major) in comes Romeo, he's moaning.
A 
E 
"You be (A major) long to Me I believe"  (E major) 
B 
And  (B major) someone says,
"You're in the wrong place, my friend,
A 
E 
 (A major) you'd better leave"  (E major) 
A 
And the  (A major) only sound that's left
E 
A 
 (E major) after the ambulances  (A major) go
E 
B 
Is  (E major) Cinderella  (B major) sweeping up on
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Verse 3
E 
Now the  (E major) moon is almost hidden,
A 
E 
the  (A major) stars are beginning to  (E major) hide
B 
The  (B major) fortune telling lady
A 
E 
has e (A major) ven taken all her things in (E major) side
E 
All ex (E major) cept for Cain and Abel
A 
E 
and the  (A major) hunchback of Notre  (E major) Dame
B 
 (B major) Everybody is making love
A 
E 
or else  (A major) expecting rain  (E major) 
A 
And the  (A major) Good Samaritan, he's dressing,
E 
A 
he's getting  (E major) ready for the show  (A major) 
E 
B 
He's  (E major) going to the car (B major) nival tonight on
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Verse 4
E 
O (E major) phelia, she's 'neath the window
A 
E 
for  (A major) her I feel so a (E major) fraid
B 
On her  (B major) twenty-second birthday
A 
E 
she al (A major) ready is an old maid  (E major) 
E 
To her,  (E major) death is quite romantic
A 
E 
she  (A major) wears an iron vest  (E major) 
B 
Her pro (B major) fession's her religion,
A 
E 
her  (A major) sin is her lifeless (E major) ness
A 
And  (A major) though her eyes are fixed
E 
A 
upon  (E major) Noah's great rain (A major) bow
E 
B 
She  (E major) spends her time  (B major) peeking into
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Verse 5
E 
Ein (E major) stein, disguised as Robin Hood
A 
E 
with his  (A major) memories in a trunk  (E major) 
B 
 (B major) Passed this way an hour ago
A 
E 
with his  (A major) friend, a jealous monk  (E major) 
E 
Now he  (E major) looked so immaculately frightful
A 
E 
as he  (A major) bummed a cigarette  (E major) 
B 
And he  (B major) went off sniffing drainpipes
A 
E 
and re (A major) citing the alpha (E major) bet
A 
You  (A major) would not think to look at him,
E 
A 
but he was  (E major) famous long a (A major) go
E 
B 
For  (E major) playing the electric  (B major) violin on
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Verse 6
E 
Dr.  (E major) Filth, he keeps his world
A 
E 
in (A major) side of a leather cup  (E major) 
B 
But  (B major) all his sexless patients,
A 
E 
they're  (A major) trying to blow it up  (E major) 
E 
Now his  (E major) nurse, some local loser,
A 
E 
she's in  (A major) charge of the cyanide  (E major) hole
B 
And she  (B major) also keeps the cards that read,
A 
E 
"Have  (A major) Mercy on His Soul"  (E major) 
A 
 (A major) They all play on the penny whistles,
E 
A 
you  (E major) can hear them blow  (A major) 
E 
B 
If you  (E major) lean your head out  (B major) far enough from
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Verse 7
E 
Across the  (E major) street they've nailed the curtains,
A 
E 
they're getting  (A major) ready for the feast  (E major) 
B 
The  (B major) Phantom of the Opera
A 
E 
in a per (A major) fect image of a priest  (E major) 
E 
They are  (E major) spoon feeding Casanova
A 
E 
to  (A major) get him to feel more as (E major) sured
B 
Then they'll  (B major) kill him with self-confidence
A 
E 
after  (A major) poisoning him with words  (E major) 
A 
And the  (A major) Phantom's shouting to skinny girls,
E 
A 
"Get  (E major) outta here if you don't  (A major) know"
E 
B 
Casa (E major) nova is just being pun (B major) ished for going to
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Verse 8
E 
At mid (E major) night all the agents
A 
E 
and the  (A major) superhuman crew  (E major) 
B 
Come  (B major) out and round up everyone
A 
E 
that knows  (A major) more than they do  (E major) 
E 
Then they  (E major) bring them to the factory
A 
E 
where the  (A major) heart-attack machine  (E major) 
B 
Is  (B major) strapped across their shoulders
A 
E 
and then  (A major) the kerosene  (E major) 
A 
Is  (A major) brought down from the castles
E 
A 
by in (E major) surance men who  (A major) go
E 
B 
Check to  (E major) see that nobody is  (B major) escaping to
A 
E 
Des (A major) olation  (E major) Row

Verse 9
E 
Praise  (E major) be to Nero's Neptune,
A 
E 
the Ti (A major) tanic sails at  (E major) dawn
B 
 (B major) Everybody's shouting,
A 
E 
 (A major) "Which side are you on?!"  (E major) 
E 
And Ez (E major) ra Pound and T.S. Eliot
A 
E 
 (A major) fighting in the captain's tow (E major) er
B 
While  (B major) calypso singers laugh at them
A 
E 
and  (A major) fishermen hold flow (E major) ers
A 
Be (A major) tween the windows of the sea
E 
A 
where  (E major) lovely mermaids  (A major) flow
E 
B 
And  (E major) nobody has to  (B major) think too much about
A 
E 
 (A major) Desolation  (E major) Row

Solo 1
E 
E 
A 
E 
 (E major)  (E major)  (A major)  (E major) 
B 
B 
A 
E 
 (B major)  (B major)  (A major)  (E major) 
E 
E 
A 
E 
 (E major)  (E major)  (A major)  (E major) 
B 
B 
A 
E 
 (B major)  (B major)  (A major)  (E major) 
A 
A 
E 
A 
 (A major)  (A major)  (E major)  (A major) 
E 
B 
A 
E 
E 
 (E major)  (B major)  (A major)  (E major)  (E major) 

Verse 10
E 
Yes, I  (E major) received your letter yesterday,
A 
E 
about  (A major) the time the doorknob broke  (E major) 
B 
When you  (B major) asked me how I was doing,
A 
E 
was  (A major) that some kind of  (E major) joke
E 
All these  (E major) people that you mention,
A 
E 
yes, I  (A major) know them, they're quite lame  (E major) 
B 
I had to  (B major) rearrange their faces
A 
E 
and give them  (A major) all another name  (E major) 
A 
Right  (A major) now, I can't read too good,
E 
A 
don't send  (E major) me no more letters  (A major) no
E 
B 
 (E major) Not unless you  (B major) mail them from
A 
E 
Des (A major) olation  (E major) Row

Solo 2
E 
E 
A 
E 
 (E major)  (E major)  (A major)  (E major) 
B 
B 
A 
E 
 (B major)  (B major)  (A major)  (E major) 
E 
E 
A 
E 
 (E major)  (E major)  (A major)  (E major) 
B 
B 
A 
E 
 (B major)  (B major)  (A major)  (E major) 
A 
A 
E 
A 
 (A major)  (A major)  (E major)  (A major) 
E 
B 
A 
E 
 (E major)  (B major)  (A major)  (E major) 

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GuitarPianoUkulele

0

E
A
B

Tuning: E A D G B EDifficulty: BeginnerKey: E majorBPM: 109

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Finger positions, low to high (E A D G B e). 0 is open, x is muted.

E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
A: x-0-2-2-2-0
B: x-2-4-4-4-x

Accurately transcribed by the GuitarTuna team.

Most chord-change problems come from the strumming hand, not the fretting hand. The basic strumming course covers the patterns and timing that make any chord progression easier to play. Practice basic strumming

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This is the definitive original version of Desolation Row by Bob Dylan, transcribed exactly as it was recorded in the studio. Unlike our simplified arrangement, this chart preserves the precise chord voicings and progressions in the original key of E major. It suits players who want to learn Desolation Row the way Bob Dylan intended, without oversimplifying the arrangement.

Desolation Row

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