"Desolation Row" | |
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Song by Bob Dylan | |
from the album Highway 61 Revisited | |
Released | August 30, 1965 |
Recorded | August 4, 1965 |
Studio | Columbia, New York City |
Genre | Folk rock [1] |
Length | 11:21 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
Producer(s) | Bob Johnston |
"Desolation Row" is a 1965 song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was recorded on August 4, 1965, and released as the closing track of Dylan's sixth studio album, Highway 61 Revisited . The song has been noted for its length (11:21) and surreal lyrics in which Dylan weaves characters into a series of vignettes that suggest entropy and urban chaos.
Although the album version of "Desolation Row" is acoustic, the song was initially recorded in an electric version. The first take was recorded during an evening session on July 29, 1965, [2] with Harvey Brooks on electric bass and Al Kooper on electric guitar. This version was eventually released in 2005 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack . [3]
On August 2, Dylan recorded five further takes of "Desolation Row". [4] The Highway 61 Revisited version was recorded at an overdub session on August 4, 1965, in Columbia's Studio A in New York City. Nashville-based guitarist Charlie McCoy, who happened to be in New York, was invited by producer Bob Johnston to contribute an improvised acoustic guitar part and Russ Savakus played bass guitar. [5] [6] Author Mark Polizzotti credits some of the success of the song to McCoy's contribution: "While Dylan's panoramic lyrics and hypnotic melody sketch out the vast canvas, it is McCoy's fills that give it their shading." [5] Outtakes from the August sessions were released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 in 2015. [7]
When asked where "Desolation Row" was located, at a TV press conference in San Francisco on December 3, 1965, Dylan replied: "Oh, that's some place in Mexico, it's across the border. It's noted for its Coke factory." [8] Al Kooper, who played electric guitar on the first recordings of "Desolation Row", suggested that it was located on a stretch of Eighth Avenue, Manhattan, "an area infested with whore houses, sleazy bars and porno supermarkets totally beyond renovation or redemption". [9] Polizzotti suggests that both the inspiration and title of the song may have come from Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac and Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. [9]
When Jann Wenner asked Dylan in 1969 whether Allen Ginsberg had influenced his songs, Dylan replied: "I think he did at a certain period. That period of... 'Desolation Row,' that kind of New York type period, when all the songs were just city songs. His poetry is city poetry. Sounds like the city." [10]
The southwestern flavored acoustic guitar backing and eclecticism of the imagery led Polizzotti to describe "Desolation Row" as the "ultimate cowboy song, the 'Home On The Range' of the frightening territory that was mid-sixties America". [11] In the penultimate verse the passengers on the Titanic are "shouting 'Which Side Are You On?'", a slogan of left-wing politics, so, for Robert Shelton, one of the targets of this song is "simpleminded political commitment. What difference which side you're on if you're sailing on the Titanic?" [12] In an interview with USA Today on September 10, 2001, the day before the release of his album Love and Theft , Dylan claimed that the song is "a minstrel song through and through. I saw some ragtag minstrel show in blackface at the carnivals when I was growing up, and it had an effect on me, just as much as seeing the lady with four legs." [13]
The song opens with a report that "they're selling postcards of the hanging", and notes "the circus is in town". Polizzotti, and other critics, have connected this song with the lynching of three black men in Duluth. [14] The men were employed by a traveling circus and had been accused of raping a white woman. On the night of June 15, 1920, they were removed from custody and hanged on the corner of First Street and Second Avenue East. Photo postcards of the lynchings were sold. [15] Duluth was Bob Dylan's birthplace. Dylan's father, Abram Zimmerman, was eight years old at the time of the lynchings, and lived two blocks from the scene. Abram Zimmerman passed the story on to his son. [16] [a 1]
"Desolation Row" has been described as Dylan's most ambitious work up to that date. [17] In the New Oxford Companion to Music , Gammond described "Desolation Row" as an example of Dylan's work that achieved a "high level of poetical lyricism." Clinton Heylin notes that Dylan is writing a song as long as traditional folk ballads, such as "Tam Lin" and "Matty Groves", and in that classic ballad metre, but without any linear narrative thread. [18]
When he reviewed the Highway 61 Revisited album for The Daily Telegraph in 1965, the English poet Philip Larkin described the song as a "marathon", with an "enchanting tune and mysterious, possibly half-baked words". [19] For Andy Gill the song is "an 11-minute epic of entropy, which takes the form of a Felliniesque parade of grotesques and oddities featuring a huge cast of iconic characters, some historical (Albert Einstein, Nero), some biblical (Noah, Cain and Abel), some fictional (Ophelia, Romeo, Cinderella), some literary (T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound), and some who fit into none of the above categories, notably Dr. Filth and his dubious nurse." [20]
According to the music historian Nicholas Schaffner, "Desolation Row" was the longest popular music track, until the Rolling Stones released "Goin' Home" (11:35) in 1966. [21]
In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Desolation Row" at number 187 on their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list; [22] the song was re-ranked at number 83 in the 2021 revision of the list. [23] In 2020, The Guardian and GQ ranked the song number five and number three, respectively, on their lists of the 50 greatest Bob Dylan songs. [24] [25]
Dylan played the Isle of Wight Festival 1969, and "Desolation Row" was the name given to the hillside area used by the 600,000 ticketless fans at the 1970 event, before the fence was torn down. [26]
Dylan debuted "Desolation Row" at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, New York, on August 28, 1965, after he "controversially went electric" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. It was part of the acoustic set Dylan played before bringing on his electric band. Of the performance, music critic Robert Shelton stated that "the song, another of Mr. Dylan's musical Rorschachs capable of widely varied interpretation ... It can best be characterized as a "folk song of the absurd." [27] The displaced images and Kafkaesque cavalcade of historical characters were at first greeted with laughter. [28]
Live versions are included on Dylan's albums MTV Unplugged (1995; recorded November 1994), The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998; recorded May 1966), The 1966 Live Recordings (2016 boxed set; multiple recording dates, with one concert released separately on the album The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert), and Live 1962–1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections (2018; recorded April 1966). The song has been featured in live performances as recently as November 19, 2012. [29] The song is included on some set lists on Dylan's current tour and was played in Bournemouth on May 4, 2017.
"Desolation Row" | ||||
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Single by My Chemical Romance | ||||
from the album Watchmen: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
Released | January 26, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2008 | |||
Genre | Punk rock [30] | |||
Length | 3:01 | |||
Label | Reprise, Warne Sunset | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan | |||
Producer(s) | My Chemical Romance | |||
My Chemical Romance singles chronology | ||||
|
My Chemical Romance recorded a cover of "Desolation Row" [31] for the 2009 soundtrack of the film Watchmen . [32] The song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in March 2009. [33] The first chapter of the comic on which the film is based ("At Midnight All the Agents") takes its name from a line in the song. This line is also quoted at the end of the chapter.
The music video for My Chemical Romance's version was directed by Zack Snyder, who also directed the Watchmen film and, as a result, features similar effects to that of the film, though no actual footage of the film appears. It features the band playing in an old-school punk arena, with visual similarities to the "Pale Horse" concert referenced in the graphic novel. The show is sold out yet more fans want in. A riot ensues as the band plays. The police arrive but are powerless to control the crowd in the venue and outside. A SWAT team arrives, arrests the band, and disperses the rioters.
During MCR's parts in the video multiple elements of Watchmen imagery (such as Rorschach's mask and The Comedian's smiley face button) are seen. The pink elephant balloon from both the comic and the film is also seen at the beginning of the video.
The band also are shown playing punk-esque instruments, covered in spray paint, warnings, etc. A Fender Stratocaster, Epiphone Les Paul and Fender Precision Bass respectively, All finished in black.
Also, the song marks the last music video appearance to feature Bob Bryar before his departure in 2010, although he would appear again on Conventional Weapons that was released three years later on February 5, 2013.
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [34] | 69 |
Mexico Airplay ( Billboard ) [35] | 22 |
Scotland (OCC) [36] | 18 |
UK Singles (OCC) [37] | 52 |
UK Rock & Metal (OCC) [38] | 1 |
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [39] | 20 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [40] | 7 |
The Grateful Dead performed a version of "Desolation Row" from the mid-1980s onwards. [41] The song is included on their 2002 release Postcards of the Hanging , the album name alluding to the lyrics of "Desolation Row". The album features a recording from March 24, 1990, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. The song was frequently abbreviated in Dead set lists to "D-Row." [42]
Chris Smither recorded the song on his 2003 album Train Home with Bonnie Raitt providing backup on vocals and slide guitar. [43] It has also been recorded by Robyn Hitchcock on the album Robyn Sings . [44]
Old 97's singer Rhett Miller borrowed "Desolation Row"'s melody for a new song, "Champaign, Illinois". It was recorded with Dylan's blessing and appears on Old 97's 2010 album The Grande Theatre, Volume One , with Dylan and Miller sharing writing credit. [45]
Italian singer-songwriters Fabrizio de André and Francesco De Gregori wrote "Via della Povertà", an Italian translation of "Desolation Row", and included it on 1974 album Canzoni .
Laura Branigan's 1985 single "Spanish Eddie" mentions the song in its chorus, "The night Spanish Eddie cashed it in / they were playin' "Desolation Row" on the radio" [46]
A line from the song "At midnight, all the agents and the superhuman crew, go out and round up everyone that knows more than they do." is the closing quotation in chapter 1 of "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. [47] In a foreword for the collected editions of the series, Dave Gibbons claims "it began with Bob Dylan", that the lyrics reproduced for chapter 1 were the "spark that would one day ignite WATCHMEN." [48]
The title track of The War on Drugs' fifth album I Don't Live Here Anymore contains the lyrics, "Like when we went to see Bob Dylan/ We danced to "Desolation Row"". [49]
In the sixth part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure , "Desolation Road" is one of the 14 phrases that are uttered by antagonist Enrico Pucchi in order to activate the Green Baby and acquire the Stand C-Moon.[ citation needed ]
Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Dylan continued the musical approach of his previous album Bringing It All Back Home (1965), using rock musicians as his backing band on every track of the album in a further departure from his primarily acoustic folk sound, except for the closing track, the 11-minute ballad "Desolation Row". Critics have focused on the innovative way Dylan combined driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural climate of contemporary America. Author Michael Gray argued that, in an important sense, the 1960s "started" with this album.
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"Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965, by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England. Dylan distilled this draft into four verses and a chorus. "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited as its opening track.
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"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, and released in 1965 on his sixth studio album, Highway 61 Revisited.
"Tombstone Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the second track on his sixth studio album Highway 61 Revisited (1965). The song was written by Dylan, and produced by Bob Johnston. Critical interpretations of the song have suggested that the song references the Vietnam War and US President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan. It was originally recorded on August 2, 1965, and released on the album Highway 61 Revisited. The song was later released on the compilation album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II and as two separate live versions recorded at concerts in 1966: the first of which appeared on the B-side of Dylan's "I Want You" single, with the second being released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. The song has been covered by many artists, including Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Power, Nina Simone, Barry McGuire, Judy Collins, Frankie Miller, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, The Black Crowes, Townes Van Zandt, Bryan Ferry, and The Handsome Family. Lightfoot's version was recorded only weeks after Dylan's original had been released and reached #3 on the Canadian RPM singles chart.
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter. Often considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. He rose to prominence in the 1960s, when songs such as "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. Initially modeling his style on Woody Guthrie's folk songs, Robert Johnson's blues and what he called the "architectural forms" of Hank Williams's country songs, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.
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"Watching the River Flow" is a song by American singer Bob Dylan. Produced by Leon Russell, it was written and recorded during a session in March 1971 at the Blue Rock Studio in New York City. The collaboration with Russell formed in part through Dylan's desire for a new sound—after a period of immersion in country rock music—and for a change from his previous producer.
The Bob Dylan World Tour 1966 was a concert tour undertaken by the American musician Bob Dylan, from February to May 1966. Dylan's 1966 World Tour was notable as the first tour where Dylan employed an electric band backing him, following him "going electric" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The musicians Dylan employed as his backing band were known as the Hawks, who later became famous as the Band.
Robert J. Gregg was an American musician who performed as a drummer and record producer. As a drum soloist and band leader he recorded one album and several singles, including one Top 40 single in the United States. But he is better known for his work as a drummer on several seminal 1960s songs, including Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence". He was also temporarily a member of the Hawks, which later became known as the Band.
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