Bob Dylan – Desolation Row

Lyrics on Genius.com

[Man] 0:00:00
Welcome to our deep dive×「deep dive」は直訳すると「深く潜ること」ですが、ここでは「あるトピックについて詳しく掘り下げて学ぶこと」という意味です。ビジネスやアカデミックな場面でよく使われ、「Let's do a deep dive into...」（〜について詳しく見ていきましょう）というフレーズでよく登場します。. Today we’re going to be looking at this song called Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:00:07
Oh yeah.

[Man] 0:00:08
It’s by Bob Dylan.

[Woman] 0:00:10
It’s a long one.

[Man] 0:00:12
It’s a long one with a lot of words. Right. Some of them pretty tough×「tough」はここでは「難しい」という意味です。. Yeah. So we’re going to explain some of those words to you if you’re learning English. Right. We really want you to understand the song and be able to enjoy it.

[Woman] 0:00:24
Yeah. This song has a lot of pictures in the words×「pictures in the words」は比喩的な表現で、鮮明なイメージが浮かぶような言葉遣いを指します。, you know? Yeah. It’s a big idea so we’re going to try to explain the pictures and the ideas that’ll help you understand.

[Man] 0:00:34
Exactly. So like right off the bat×「right off the bat」は「すぐに」「即座に」という意味です。野球のバットでボールを打つ様子から生まれた表現です。, the first verse of this song is pretty dark×物事の雰囲気や内容について「dark」と言う場合、比喩的に「暗い」「陰鬱な」「恐ろしい」といった意味を表します。.

[Woman] 0:00:38
Oh yeah.

[Man] 0:00:39
It talks about some pretty heavy stuff×「heavy stuff」は「深刻な内容」「重い話題」という意味です。. It says, postcards of the hanging×「hanging」は絞首刑のことです。直接的に表現すると残酷なので、婉曲的に表現しています。.

[Woman] 0:00:43
Right.

[Man] 0:00:44
So you know, a postcard is something you send in the mail. And a hanging is when somebody dies because a bad person puts a rope around their neck.

[Woman] 0:00:51
Right. So this makes us think about violence×「violence」は「暴力」という意味です。 right away, you know? People who are angry and want to hurt other people and maybe Dylan was thinking about a true story. Oh, really? Yeah. There was this awful thing that happened in Duluth, Minnesota×ミネソタ州ダルースは、1920年に3人の黒人男性が白人の暴徒にリンチされた事件が起きた場所です。この事件は、アメリカにおける人種差別の歴史を象徴する出来事として知られています。 many years ago. Three black men were killed by a mob×「mob」は「暴徒」「群衆」という意味です。.

[Man] 0:01:09
Oh, wow.

[Woman] 0:01:11
And people took pictures of these hangings and they sold them on postcards.

[Man] 0:01:13
Oh my gosh×「Oh my gosh」は「Oh my God（なんてこった！）」を婉曲的に表現したものです。「God」という言葉を使うことを避けることで、宗教的なタブーに触れないように配慮しています。.

[Woman] 0:01:14
It was a horrible thing.

[Man] 0:01:16
That’s awful. Yeah. And then it says, they’re painting the passports brown.

[Woman] 0:01:21
Hmm.

[Man] 0:01:22
So a passport is that little book that you need to go to a different country.

[Woman] 0:01:25
Right. A long time ago, passports used to be different colors and important people would have a brown passport.

[Woman] 0:01:32
Oh. So maybe this means that people want to leave. They want to go to a new place. They want to get out of Desolation Row, which is the place in the song.

[Man] 0:01:41
Right. And it doesn’t sound like a great place to be.

[Woman] 0:01:43
No, it doesn’t.

[Man] 0:01:44
So then the song just says, lady. Yeah.

[Woman] 0:01:46
This lady. I don’t know. It could be a real woman or maybe it’s more like an idea×「idea」は「概念」「思考」「着想」などを意味します。明確な形がない抽象的なものを指すことが多いです。 or a feeling. You know, maybe she’s lost or alone or searching for something.

[Man] 0:01:54
So what about Desolation Row itself? Like, what is that place?

[Woman] 0:01:57
Yeah, I don’t think it’s a real place. It’s more like a place in your mind. Maybe it’s where you go when you’re sad or you feel lost.

[Man] 0:02:02
Right.

[Woman] 0:02:03
Or like nobody understands you.

[Man] 0:02:05
Yeah. Yeah, I got it. So then in verse two, we got these two people, Cinderella and Romeo.

[Woman] 0:02:11
Yeah. Well, everybody knows those stories.

[Man] 0:02:13
Right. Cinderella, she’s a girl. She’s in a fairy tale×「fairy tale」は「おとぎ話」です。.

[Woman] 0:02:16
Yeah. But in this song, they’re different. Right. It’s like he’s twisting the stories around×「twisting the stories around」は物語を本来の内容とは違うように解釈したり、改変したりすることを意味します。.

[Man] 0:02:20
OK, got it×「OK, got it」は「わかった」「理解した」という意味のカジュアルな表現です。. Yeah. And then it says that Cinderella seems so easy×「easy」はここでは「気楽な」「のんきな」という意味です。.

[Woman] 0:02:24
Yeah. It means that she’s not worried. You know, she’s happy. Right. She’s not scared of anything.

[Man] 0:02:30
And then she says it takes one to know one×「it takes one to know one」は、同じような経験や境遇を持つ人同士は分かり合えるという意味のことわざです。.

[Woman] 0:02:33
Right. So she’s saying she understands Romeo that they’re the same.

[Man] 0:02:36
OK. Yeah. And then Romeo tells her, “you belong to me×「You belong to me」は「君は僕のものだ」という意味です。所有を表す表現で、恋人同士で使うこともありますが、場合によっては相手を支配しようとするニュアンスにもなります。1950年代のヒット曲のタイトルでもあります。.”

[Woman] 0:02:40
Oh, yeah, that sounds bad. He wants to control×「control」は「支配する」「コントロールする」という意味です。 her. Like, she’s his possession×「possession」は「所有物」「持ち物」という意味です。ここでは、RomeoがCinderellaのことを自分のもののように考えていることを示唆しています。 or something. And someone tells Romeo, you’re in the wrong place. You better leave. Oh. Which means it’s not safe for him there. Something bad might happen.

[Man] 0:02:53
Right.

[Woman] 0:02:55
Like, maybe there was a fight or somebody got hurt. Exactly. And at the very end of the verse, Cinderella’s sweeping up on Desolation Row.

[Man] 0:02:59
Hmm. So she’s cleaning the street, maybe cleaning up the bad things that just happened. That’s a good way to put it×「That's a good way to put it」は「うまい言い方ですね」「なるほど、そういう表現がいいですね」という意味です。相手の発言を肯定し、その表現方法を褒める時に使います。. OK. So then verse three, it’s talking about the sky. It says that the moon and stars are beginning to hide. Right. So it’s getting dark×「dark」は「暗い」という意味ですが、時間的な「夜」だけでなく、状況が「悪い方向に向かっている」「不穏な」という意味を持つこともあります。. And dark can mean, like, nighttime. Right.

[Woman] 0:03:13
But it’s dark.

[Woman] 0:03:20
Right. And dark can mean, like, night. Right. Right. But it can also mean bad times are coming. Right. And then it says that the fortune telling lady×「fortune telling lady」は「占い師」のことです。 is packing up.

[Man] 0:03:30
Oh, right. So fortune telling lady is somebody who can see the future.

[Woman] 0:03:33
Yeah. They use special cards or a crystal ball×「crystal ball」は「水晶玉」です。. Right. And she’s leaving because she can’t see the future anymore. Oh. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen. And that’s pretty×「pretty」は通常「かわいい」「きれい」という意味の形容詞ですが、ここでは「とても」「かなり」という意味の副詞として使われています。 scary, you know, when you don’t know what’s coming next.

[Man] 0:03:44
Right. Yeah. OK.

[Woman] 0:03:47
And then it’s talking about Cain and Abel×カインとアベルは、旧約聖書の創世記に登場する兄弟です。兄のカインは農耕を行い、弟のアベルは羊を飼っていました。神への捧げ物として、カインは農作物を、アベルは羊を捧げましたが、神はアベルの捧げ物だけを気に入りました。嫉妬に駆られたカインはアベルを殺害し、神によって罰せられます。. Yeah.

[Man] 0:03:49
Those are two brothers from the Bible×「Bible」は「聖書」のことです。. Right.

[Woman] 0:03:51
Cain killed Abel. Right.

[Man] 0:03:54
And then the hunchback of Notre Dame×「hunchback of Notre Dame」は、ヴィクトル・ユゴーの小説『ノートルダム・ド・パリ』に登場するカジモドのことです。カジモドは、ノートルダム大聖堂の鐘つき男で、生まれつき背中にこぶがありました。彼は、外見が醜いという理由で人々から蔑まれ、孤独な人生を送りましたが、心優しく純粋な青年でした。西洋文化において、カジモドはしばしば「疎外された者」「迫害された者」の象徴として描かれています。この歌では、Desolation Rowに集まる社会から疎外された人々の象徴として登場しています。.

[Woman] 0:03:55
Yeah. Notre Dame×「Notre Dame」はフランスのパリにある有名な大聖堂です。 is a famous church. And a hunchback×「hunchback」は「せむし」のことです。 is a person with a curved back.

[Man] 0:04:01
Right.

[Woman] 0:04:02
His name is Quasimodo×カジモドは、ヴィクトル・ユゴーの小説『ノートルダム・ド・パリ』に登場するせむしの鐘つき男です。. He’s from a famous story. And people are really mean to him×「mean」は、意地悪な、または不親切な行動や言動を指します。相手を傷つける目的で行う場合と、無意識に不親切な態度をとってしまう場合があります。 because he looks different. Right.

[Man] 0:04:08
And then it says everybody else is making love or else expecting rain×「expecting rain」は「雨を予期する」という意味で、ここでは比喩的に「良くないことが起こるのを予期する」「不安な気持ちでいる」という意味です。. Hmm.

[Woman] 0:04:13
So you got two different things going on there. Making love means being with somebody you love. Right. And expect and rain means you’re waiting for bad weather. Right.

[Man] 0:04:23
So some people are happy and some people are worried.

[Woman] 0:04:25
That’s a good way to put it×「That's a good way to put it」は「それは良い言い方ですね」「なるほど、そういう表現が良いですね」という意味です。相手の発言に賛同し、その表現方法を褒める時に使います。.

[Man] 0:04:26
And then it mentions the Good Samaritan×「Good Samaritan」は「良きサマリア人」のことで、困っている人を助ける人のたとえです。新約聖書に登場します。.

[Woman] 0:04:28
Oh, yeah. That’s from another Bible story. He’s a good guy who helps other people.

[Man] 0:04:33
And it says that he’s getting ready for the show. Right.

[Woman] 0:04:37
So maybe this is a performance or a play or something exciting. Yeah. Or maybe it means he’s going to Desolation Row. He wants to be part of it.

[Man] 0:04:43
Right. OK. Yeah. So then in verse four, we meet Ophelia×「Ophelia」は、シェイクスピアの戯曲『ハムレット』に登場する悲劇的なヒロインです。彼女は、ハムレットの恋人でしたが、ハムレットの狂気と父の死によって精神的に不安定になり、最後は水死してしまいます。この歌では、オフィーリアは精神的に脆く、絶望の淵にいる女性として描かれています。.

[Woman] 0:04:47
Oh, Ophelia. Yeah.

[Man] 0:04:49
She’s from a Shakespeare play. Right. And she’s a little messed up×「messed up」は「めちゃくちゃな」「混乱した」という意味のスラングです。. She’s a little mad×「mad」は「怒っている」という意味の他に、「狂っている」「正気ではない」という意味もあります。. She is. And she jumps into the water and dies. Oh, I. And the song says she’s beneath the window. So maybe she’s looking at Desolation Row. That’s a good point. And the singer’s worried about her. He says, for her, I feel so afraid.

[Woman] 0:05:05
Yeah. He thinks something bad’s going to happen to her.

[Man] 0:05:07
Right. Yeah. Then it says to her, death is quite romantic.

[Woman] 0:05:11
Yeah. Romantic×「romantic」は「ロマンチックな」という意味ですが、ここでは比喩的に「理想化された」「美化された」という意味で使われています。 is like something about love. Right. So she thinks Diane is beautiful.

[Man] 0:05:15
Wow. Yeah. And she’s only 22, but she feels like an old maid×「old maid」は、結婚せずに年を取ってしまった女性を指す言葉です。現代ではあまり使われません。.

[Woman] 0:05:20
An old maid is a woman who never got married. So she thinks she’s too old to find love. Right. And she just feels lifeless×「lifeless」は「活気のない」「生気のない」という意味です。. Like she doesn’t enjoy life anymore.

[Man] 0:05:28
But then it says she sees Noah’s×ノアは、旧約聖書の『創世記』に登場する人物です。神は、堕落した人類を滅ぼすために大洪水を起こすことを決めましたが、ノアは正しい人物だったので、彼と彼の家族、そしてすべての動物のつがいを乗せた箱舟を作るように命じました。大洪水が収まった後、ノアは箱舟から出て、神と契約を結びました。その契約の証として、神は空に虹をかけました。 great rainbow.

[Woman] 0:05:31
Oh, yeah. That’s from the Bible. It’s a symbol of hope×「symbol of hope」は「希望の象徴」という意味です。.

[Man] 0:05:34
Right. A rainbow comes after the rain. Right. So he sees this rainbow, but she’s still looking at Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:05:40
Hmm. She’s interested in this dark place, even though she sees something hopeful, too.

[Man] 0:05:44
That’s interesting. Yeah, it is. All right. So then verse five gets really weird×「gets weird」は「奇妙になる」「おかしくなる」という意味です。. Wow.

[Woman] 0:05:51
Einstein×アルベルト・アインシュタインは、20世紀のドイツ生まれの理論物理学者です。相対性理論などを提唱しました。 was a famous scientist, right?

[Man] 0:05:53
Super smart.

[Woman] 0:05:54
Super smart. And Robin Hood’s×ロビン・フッドは、イングランドの伝承に登場する義賊です。金持ちから金を奪い、貧しい人々に分け与えることで知られています。 this guy from a story who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

[Man] 0:06:00
OK. So he’s wearing a costume×「costume」は「衣装」「仮装」のことです。. He’s trying to hide who he is.

[Woman] 0:06:03
Yeah. And it says his memory is in a trunk×「trunk」は旅行用の「トランク」で、ここでは比喩的に「記憶の保管場所」を指しています。.

[Man] 0:06:06
Like a big suitcase.

[Woman] 0:06:07
Yeah. Like he wants to forget about his past.

[Man] 0:06:09
And he’s with a jealous monk×「monk」は「修道士」です。.

[Woman] 0:06:11
A monk is a religious person who lives a simple life. Right. They pray and help people, and they don’t care about money.

[Man] 0:06:18
And jealous×「jealous」は「嫉妬深い」「妬ましい」という意味です。 means that you want what somebody else has.

[Woman] 0:06:22
Right. So this is kind of funny because monks aren’t supposed to be jealous×「be supposed to ～」は「～することになっている」「～するはずだ」という意味です。「be not supposed to ～」は「～してはいけない」「～するはずではない」という意味になります。. Right. But this guy is… So maybe it means even good people can have bad thoughts.

[Man] 0:06:31
OK. So then it says that Einstein looked so immaculately×「immaculately」は「完璧に」「非の打ち所なく」という意味です。 frightful×「frightful」は「恐ろしい」「ゾッとするような」という意味です。.

[Woman] 0:06:36
So immaculately means perfectly clean.

[Man] 0:06:39
Right.

[Woman] 0:06:40
And frightful means scary.

[Man] 0:06:42
So he’s perfectly scary.

[Woman] 0:06:43
That’s funny.

[Man] 0:06:44
That is funny. And then he asks for a cigarette. He’s bumming a cigarette×「bumming a cigarette」は、タバコを持っていない人が誰かからタバコを1本もらうことを意味するインフォーマルな表現です。. And then he starts doing all these weird things. Like what? Sniffing drain pipes×「sniffing drainpipes」は「排水管の匂いを嗅ぐ」という意味です。.

[Woman] 0:06:52
Those are the pipes that take water away from a building.

[Man] 0:06:54
Right. And he’s reciting the alphabet×「reciting the alphabet」は「アルファベットを暗唱する」という意味です。 like a little kid.

[Woman] 0:06:57
That’s pretty weird for a genius.

[Man] 0:06:58
Yeah. Like, what’s going on with him? And then it says he was famous long ago for playing the electric violin×「electric violin」は電気バイオリンのことです。.

[Woman] 0:07:05
So he was a musician, too. Yeah. That’s pretty talented.

[Man] 0:07:08
Yeah. But now he’s just acting crazy. Maybe he lost his talent.

[Woman] 0:07:11
Maybe that’s why he’s so sad.

[Man] 0:07:13
Yeah. OK. So in verse six, we’ve got this guy called Dr. Filth.

[Woman] 0:07:16
Yeah. That’s a nickname×「nickname」は「ニックネーム」「あだ名」のことです。, not his real name.

[Man] 0:07:19
Right. Filth×「filth」は「汚物」「不潔なもの」という意味です。 means something dirty. So he’s not a very nice guy. Right. And then it says he keeps his world inside a leather cup×「leather cup」は革でできたカップです。.

[Woman] 0:07:25
Hmm. So a leather cup is like a little container made of animal skin. OK. So, I don’t know. Maybe he keeps his secrets in there or something.

[Man] 0:07:32
And then it says all his sexless×「sexless」は「性的な関心がない」「性的に活動的でない」という意味です。 patients, they’re trying to blow it up×「blow it up」は「爆発させる」という意味ですが、ここでは比喩的に「破壊する」「台無しにする」という意味で使われています。.

[Woman] 0:07:37
So sexless means they don’t have sex. Right. And blow it up means like to make something explode.

[Man] 0:07:43
So his patients are unhappy.

[Woman] 0:07:44
Yeah. Maybe he wants to change his world or destroy it.

[Man] 0:07:46
And then we meet his nurse, and the song calls her a local loser×「loser」は「敗者」「負け犬」という意味で、ここでは「人生で成功していない人」を指します。.

[Woman] 0:07:51
Oh.

[Man] 0:07:52
So a loser is somebody who doesn’t succeed in life. Right. And she’s in charge of the cyanide×「cyanide」は「シアン化物」という猛毒です。 hole.

[Woman] 0:07:58
Cyanide×「Cyanide」は青酸カリなどに使われる猛毒です。 is a poison that can kill people. So maybe she’s helping people kill themselves.

[Man] 0:08:02
Oh my gosh.

[Woman] 0:08:03
That’s a dark thought.

[Man] 0:08:05
Yeah. But then it says she keeps the cards that read, “Have mercy on his soul×「Have mercy on his soul」は「彼の魂に慈悲を」という意味で、死者のための祈りの言葉です。.”

[Woman] 0:08:11
That’s weird. Yeah. So, she’s not only trying to kill people, but she’s also asking for mercy×「mercy」は「慈悲」「情け」という意味です。, which means to be kind to somebody.

[Man] 0:08:18
Right. Yeah.

[Woman] 0:08:20
And then they’re playing the penny whistle×「penny whistle」は、ブリキでできた安価な笛です。日本でいう「ピーヒャラ笛」のようなものです。.

[Man] 0:08:21
That’s like a little flute. Right. Yeah. And you can hear them playing, but you have to lean your head out far enough from Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:08:29
So you’ve got to really try to hear it. It’s hard to escape Desolation Row.

[Man] 0:08:32
OK. So we can keep going through the verses. What do you think?

[Woman] 0:08:35
Yeah, let’s do it. So verse seven starts off with this line, “Across the street, they’ve nailed the curtains.”

[Man] 0:08:41
Right. So what are those things that cover your windows?

[Woman] 0:08:44
They hide things. And nailing means you’re using a hammer and a nail. Right. So maybe they’re building something like a stage.

[Man] 0:08:52
Yeah. And they’re getting ready for the feast×「feast」は「ごちそう」「宴会」のことです。.

[Woman] 0:08:54
Right. A feast is a big meal with a lot of food.

[Man] 0:08:58
Like a party?

[Woman] 0:08:59
Yeah. Or maybe even something more serious. Oh, wow. Well, you know, there’s that story in the Bible about Jesus having his last meal×「Last Supper」は「最後の晩餐」のことで、イエス・キリストが十字架にかけられる前夜、弟子たちと食事を共にした出来事です。キリスト教では、この食事中にイエスがパンとぶどう酒を弟子たちに与え、「これは私の体であり、私の血である」と述べたとされています。この出来事は、聖餐式として現代のキリスト教の儀式にも受け継がれています。 with his friends.

[Woman] 0:09:05
Oh, right. It was called the Last Supper. So maybe that’s what Dylan’s referring to×「refer to」は「～に言及する」「～を参照する」という意味です。 here.

[Man] 0:09:09
OK. But this feast isn’t real, right?

[Woman] 0:09:12
It’s all part of a show. Yeah. And then it mentions the Phantom of the Opera×『オペラ座の怪人』は、ガストン・ルルーの小説を原作としたミュージカル作品です。仮面で顔を隠した怪人がオペラ座に住み着いているという物語です。.

[Man] 0:09:15
Oh, yeah. The Phantom’s this guy who lives in this big opera house.

[Woman] 0:09:19
And he wears a mask×「mask」は「仮面」のことです。 to hide his face. Right. He’s a real mystery.

[Man] 0:09:23
And it says that he looks like a priest×「priest」は「司祭」「神父」のことです。.

[Woman] 0:09:25
Which is kind of weird because he’s not a priest. He just looks like one. Right. So maybe this means people can pretend to be something they’re not.

[Man] 0:09:32
OK. And then they’re feeding Casanova×ジャコモ・カサノヴァは18世紀のイタリアの冒険家で、多くの女性と恋愛関係を持ったことで知られています。.

[Woman] 0:09:34
Casanova×ジャコモ・カサノヴァは、数多くの女性と浮名を流したことで知られる、18世紀のイタリアの冒険家です。 was this guy who was famous for loving a lot of women.

[Man] 0:09:40
And they’re spoon-feeding×「spoon-feeding」は、スプーンで食べ物を食べさせることです。赤ちゃんや病人など、自分で食べることができない人に食べ物を与えるときに使います。 him like he’s a baby.

[Woman] 0:09:42
Yeah. They want to make him feel good, but they’re also lying to him.

[Man] 0:09:45
Oh, really?

[Woman] 0:09:46
They’re giving him too much confidence×「confidence」は「自信」という意味です。, and that actually ends up killing him.

[Man] 0:09:49
Wow.

[Woman] 0:09:50
Yeah. And then the Phantom yells at the girls to get out.

[Man] 0:09:53
And tells them Casanova’s gone to Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:09:55
Yeah. So he’s being punished somehow. Desolation Row’s definitely not a good place to be.

[Man] 0:10:01
OK. Verse eight.

[Woman] 0:10:03
It’s midnight×「midnight」は「真夜中」「午前0時」のことです。.

[Man] 0:10:04
That’s the middle of the night. And all the agents×「agents」はここでは「代理人」「諜報員」のような意味で使われています。 and the superhuman×「superhuman」は「超人的な」「人間離れした」という意味です。 crew come out.

[Woman] 0:10:07
So an agent is somebody who works for someone else.

[Man] 0:10:10
Right. They do what their boss tells them to do.

[Woman] 0:10:13
And superhuman means they’re stronger and better than regular people.

[Man] 0:10:17
OK. And they’re rounding up×「rounding up」は「集める」「まとめる」という意味です。家畜などを追い集める際にも使われます。 people, taking them away.

[Woman] 0:10:19
Rounded up means gathering them together.

[Man] 0:10:21
Right. And where are they taking them?

[Woman] 0:10:23
To the factory.

[Man] 0:10:24
That’s a big building where they make things.

[Woman] 0:10:26
And they put these people in a machine called the heart attack machine×「heart attack machine」は心臓発作を起こさせる機械のことです。.

[Man] 0:10:29
Oh my gosh. A heart attack×「heart attack」は「心臓発作」「心臓麻痺」のことです。 is when your heart stops working.

[Woman] 0:10:32
It can kill you.

[Man] 0:10:33
So this machine is like a torture device×「torture device」は「拷問器具」のことです。.

[Woman] 0:10:35
Yeah.

[Man] 0:10:36
It’s really scary. It’s like kerosene×「kerosene」は「灯油」のことです。, which is like a liquid that burns easily.

[Woman] 0:10:40
Yeah. And it says insurance men×「insurance men」は「保険外交員」のことです。 are bringing it.

[Man] 0:10:43
Insurance men are the people who sell you insurance.

[Woman] 0:10:44
Right. Insurance helps you if something bad happens. Right. So maybe they’re checking to see if anyone’s trying to escape.

[Man] 0:10:51
Like they don’t want anyone going to Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:10:54
Exactly. Desolation Row is dangerous, and people want to get out, but someone’s trying to keep them

[Man] 0:10:58
in. OK. Verse nine starts with this weird phrase. Praise be to Nero’s Neptune×「Praise be to Nero's Neptune」は「ネロのネプチューンに栄光あれ」という意味です。ネロは古代ローマの皇帝、ネプチューンはローマ神話の海神です。.

[Woman] 0:11:04
Yeah. Nero×ネロは古代ローマ帝国の第5代皇帝です。暴君として知られています。 was a Roman emperor×「emperor」は「皇帝」です。.

[Man] 0:11:07
An emperor is like a king.

[Woman] 0:11:08
Right. A very powerful ruler. And Neptune×ネプチューンはローマ神話の海神です。ギリシャ神話ではポセイドンに相当します。 was a Roman god, the god of the sea×「sea」は「海」です。.

[Man] 0:11:14
The sea is the ocean, right?

[Woman] 0:11:15
Right. It’s the big body of water with salt water. OK. So this is a tough one to figure out. Yeah. Maybe it’s about that famous ship that sank, the Titanic.

[Man] 0:11:23
Oh, OK. And then it says the Titanic×タイタニック号は、1912年に処女航海中に氷山に衝突して沈没した豪華客船です。 sails at dawn×「dawn」は「夜明け」のことです。.

[Woman] 0:11:27
Dawn×「Dawn」は「夜明け」「明け方」のことです。 is when the sun comes up at the beginning of the day.

[Man] 0:11:29
So maybe it’s a new beginning, but something bad’s going to happen.

[Woman] 0:11:33
And then it says, “which side are you on×「Which side are you on?」は「どちら側につくのか？」という意味です。?”

[Man] 0:11:34
Oh, so there’s a fight going on.

[Woman] 0:11:36
Yeah.

[Man] 0:11:37
People have to choose a side. And it’s two poets×「poets」は「詩人」のことです。 fighting.

[Woman] 0:11:39
Poets are people who write poems.

[Man] 0:11:41
And their names are Ezra Pound×エズラ・パウンドは、20世紀前半に活躍したアメリカの詩人です。 and T.S. Eliot×T・S・エリオットは、20世紀前半に活躍したイギリスの詩人です。『荒地』などの作品で知られています。.

[Woman] 0:11:43
Eliot×T・S・エリオットは、20世紀のイギリス系アメリカ人の詩人、評論家、劇作家です。モダニズム文学を代表する人物の1人で、『荒地』などの作品で知られています。. Yeah. And they’re in the captain’s×船において「captain」は「船長」です。 tower on a ship.

[Man] 0:11:46
The captain is the leader of the ship, right?

[Woman] 0:11:48
Right. So they’re fighting for power, but it’s kind of pointless because the ship’s sinking.

[Man] 0:11:54
And nobody cares about their fight. They’re too busy enjoying life.

[Woman] 0:11:57
Right. Calypso×「Calypso」はカリブ海地域発祥の音楽のジャンルです。アップテンポで陽気な曲調が特徴です。 is a kind of happy music.

[Man] 0:12:00
And fishermen are the guys who catch fish.

[Woman] 0:12:02
And flowers are pretty plants that make people happy.

[Man] 0:12:06
Yeah. So there’s still beauty in the world, even though there’s bad stuff happening.

[Woman] 0:12:09
Exactly.

[Man] 0:12:10
And then there’s this beautiful image of lovely mermaids×「mermaids」は「人魚」のことです。 swimming in the sea.

[Woman] 0:12:14
Mermaids×「mermaid」は「人魚」のことです。上半身が人間、下半身が魚の姿をした伝説の生き物です。 are those creatures that are half woman and half fish.

[Man] 0:12:18
Right. Yeah. And then it says, nobody has to think too much about Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:12:22
Hmm. But we’re thinking about it right now.

[Man] 0:12:25
Yeah.

[Woman] 0:12:26
That’s kind of weird. Maybe it means you can choose to ignore it. Oh, OK. Or focus on other things.

[Man] 0:12:31
OK. So the last verse is like a letter.

[Woman] 0:12:33
Yeah.

[Man] 0:12:34
The singer’s talking to a friend. And he’s looking at him.

[Woman] 0:12:37
“How are you doing?” The singer’s like, “Oh, is that some kind of joke×「joke」は「冗談」です。相手を笑わせるつもりの発言や、相手をからかうような発言を指します。?”

[Man] 0:12:41
He’s not doing well.

[Woman] 0:12:42
No, he’s not. He’s in a bad place. And he thinks his friend doesn’t understand.

[Man] 0:12:46
And he says all the people his friend mentioned are lame×「lame」はスラングで「つまらない」「ダサい」という意味です。.

[Woman] 0:12:49
Which means boring.

[Man] 0:12:50
Right. And he tells his friend, “Don’t send me no more letters. No, not unless you mail them from Desolation Row.”

[Woman] 0:12:57
Wow. So he wants his friend to come to his world.

[Man] 0:13:00
Yeah. Like, “If you really want to understand me, you’ve got to come to Desolation Row.”

[Woman] 0:13:03
That’s deep.

[Man] 0:13:04
That was a lot.

[Woman] 0:13:05
We went through a lot of verses there.

[Man] 0:13:07
So what happens next?

[Woman] 0:13:08
Yeah. And then he says, “I had to rearrange their faces and give them all another name.”

[Man] 0:13:12
So he’s changing how he sees people.

[Woman] 0:13:14
Yeah. Like he’s creating his own world.

[Man] 0:13:16
And he wants his friend to be a part of it.

[Woman] 0:13:18
Exactly. He’s saying, “Come to my world. Come to Desolation Row, and then you’ll understand.”

[Man] 0:13:25
So that was Desolation Row. Wow. A lot of words, a lot of pictures, a lot of ideas. Yeah. So we’re talking about good things and bad things. What do you think it all means?

[Woman] 0:13:36
That’s the big question, isn’t it? Yeah. I mean, maybe it’s about loneliness×「loneliness」は「孤独」です。「lonely」の形容詞です。 or the darkness in the world. Right. Or maybe it’s about finding beauty, even when things are bad.

[Man] 0:13:45
Yeah. I think this song could really help someone learn English.

[Woman] 0:13:48
Oh, absolutely.

[Man] 0:13:49
There’s so many words in there, and we explained a lot of the difficult ones. Right. So now you can listen to the song and understand it. And maybe every time you listen, you’ll learn something new.

[Woman] 0:13:58
That’s the beauty of Dylan.

[Man] 0:13:59
Yeah. Thanks for joining us on this deep dive into Desolation Row.

[Woman] 0:14:04
It was a pleasure.

[Man] 0:14:05
I think we both learned a lot today.

[Woman] 0:14:06
Me too.

[Man] 0:14:07
And we’ll see you next time.

[Woman] 0:14:09
See you.