Desolation Row (Updated)

Well, David, he was a cheater
And Stephan was an only child
With Pete we made the most of it
Like marriage for a while.

 Love was fabulous catastrophes
Like bowling balls rolled slow
Now off the hook, the phones lie down
On Desolation Row

He was a father in the laundromat
Who fed machines with dimes
Then lent back in the plastic chair
And texted to his wife

The heavy eyelids lifted
And threw me a direct gaze
Sweet brown shoulders, long black hair
Statement T-shirt from far off days.

Time had pulled those years away
But love swept him ashore
And I wondered why every man I met
Apparently needed more.

It’s disappointing how laddered stockings
Even now, just grow and grow
And you don’t know the half of it
On Desolation Row.
 
Predatory attitudes
Were apparently all the rage
They wanted to see just what you’d do
When you were put into a cage.

Celebrities now in prison
Doesn’t seem completely fair
When sex had no rhyme or reason
And step-fathers cruelly brushed your hair.
 
Well, I hear they like Adele
Nice pitter patter on the ears
I hear they like Ed Sheeran
A reliable way to hear.

I guess from Tin Pan Alley,
The lover birds have flown
At 3.00 am, would I lie to you?
From Desolation Row.

There’s perspective that I’m twisting for
Inside a kaleidoscope
A view of life that makes sense to me
With one who’ll help me cope

But apparently that ain’t meant to be
And I’m flipping these thoughts alone
The nights run down then wake me up
On Desolation Row.
 
It’s the lottery of truth
And she wants to gamble it all
She’s leaning out the window
Sees Off  Licence in the dawn
Grabs her jacket and her phone
Sees a billion ports of call
Then slips it in her pocket
Opens door, then leaves it all.
 
It’s a funny old coincidence
That you’re hearing what she’s saying now
When you were late into the office
Followed by that teenage pout.

It’s a crime, but who is the criminal?
They look the same, don’t you know
The line-up is accusing you
On Desolation Row.