Desolation Row by Bob Dylan

The majority of Bob Dylan's ballad paint a picture for the audience and allow them to create their own ideas of what the song means. An example of this type of ballad is "Desolation Row" with it's lengthiness and intriguing lyrics it is no wonder why countless individuals have become enthralled with this ballad. This song is filled with ambiguity and interesting characters that allow listeners to create a variety of ideas. One of the first questions that comes to my mind when I read the lyrics is where is Desolation Row exactly? Clearly it is a place where no individual willingly goes, but where is it located. Is it in the United States, or some poor third world country, or even in a place where the majority of individuals would never believe to be so much bitterness and misery. I believe that Desolation Row is no particular place in general, but what I picture is a place like Manhattan in New York City. It appears to be such a wonderful area booming with positive and prosperous activity however underneath the glitz and the glam is a depressing and melancholy place.

Although I am sure there are countless ways to interpret this ballad I believe that Dylan is encouraging his listeners to remove the "rose-colored glasses" and to see the reality of what is really going on in society. This ballad reminds me of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" in so many ways, I really wonder if Dylan had been influenced by Ginsberg's work when he wrote this song. In "Howl" Ginsberg wrote of all the horrible and miserable aspects of society, and I believe Dylan is doing the same thing here. At the end of the song, in the very last verse, I think that Dyaln summarizes all he just said by saying, "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 / Now unless you mail them /  From Desolation Row". Here Dylan is saying he is fed up with avoiding the obvious for any longer, because he is the person who is in Desolation Row since he sees the true reality of the world. He doesn't want to read any more letters because he doesn't want to hear about the delusion of other people, the only way he will is if they too are at Desolation Row, aka reality.