Bob Dylan – Ballad of a Thin Man
October 252009
From the Highway 61 Revisited album
Lyrics:
You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, “Who is that man ?”
You try so hard
But you don’t understand
Just what you’ll say
When you get home.
Because something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?
You raise up your head
And you ask, “Is this where it is ?”
And somebody points to you and says
“It’s his”
And you says, “What’s mine ?”
And somebody else says, “Where what is ?”
And you say, “Oh my God
Am I here all alone ?”
But something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?
You hand in your ticket
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, “How does it feel
To be such a freak ?”
And you say, “Impossible”
As he hands you a bone.
And something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?
You have many contacts
Among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To all give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations.
You’ve been with the professors
And they’ve all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have
Discussed lepers and crooks
You’ve been through all of
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books
You’re very well read
It’s well known.
But something is happening here
And you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, “Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan”.
And you know something is happening
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?
Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word “NOW”
And you say, “For what reason ?”
And he says, “How ?”
And you say, “What does this mean ?”
And he screams back, “You’re a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home”.
Because something is happening
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?
Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin’ around
You should be made
To wear earphones.
Does something is happening
And you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
Duration : 0:5:58
[youtube ZFYlhw3g4P8]
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
This actually makes …
This actually makes a of a lot of sense. In my opinion, this song was just to confuse the folkies who hated his new style, they enjoyed simple songs, about topical issues, songs with a blatant meaning, this song can be interpreted in so many different ways, the folkies just could not get it.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Dylan had no …
Dylan had no contention with Brian. It’s a Warhol diss. Put Andys name at each lyrical barb and it begins to makes sense. 3 July 1969. RIP.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Dylan in his (2nd) …
Dylan in his (2nd) prime…folkie, rocker, troubador, preacher, pragmatist, and soothsayer all in one, all at different times in his career. To be still relevant (back-to-back #1’s for the first time since ‘76) is mind-boggling. As far as the inspiration, i believe ‘Mr. Jones’ is Brian fron the Rolling Stones and his experimintation with acid, just a theory as they were such good buddies and Dylan wrote ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ him. Gonna catch him in Indy on 11.2, LONG LIVE BOB!!!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Yeah, Dylan was …
Yeah, Dylan was highly influenced by the free-flowing imagry of William Carlos Williams and others like Allen Ginsberg. You have to look at his songs from this period as images, not as a solid theme.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
The song is …
The song is probably about something more abstract than “journalists” or “homosexuals” or whatever… people just pick out one part of the song- a few lines usually and then say thats what the WHOLE song is about…well that isn’t how it works.
Personally, i think dylan just liked the way the words sounded as he composed them.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
One-Eyed-Midget… …
One-Eyed-Midget…
HAHAHAHAHA..!!
Lepers and crooks…
LMAO…
Great song, great song…
*xXx*
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
One of the best …
One of the best albums ever! Godlike
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Bob Dylan’s voice …
Bob Dylan’s voice is like none other
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
you guys are dumb …
you guys are dumb this song is obviously about robert christgau duh
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
If you don’t know …
If you don’t know what this is about YOU ARE MR JONES.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
is a about a gay …
is a about a gay due ?¡?¡?¡
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I am sitting here …
I am sitting here in the dorms and wish I had someone like that to touch my delicate areas
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
its about a gay …
its about a gay dude ?
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Just heard this …
Just heard this randomly on a random TV program – Great song
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I think this is the …
I think this is the best example of his incredible symbolism lyrics. It’s something beyond human, to come up with such interesting ways for things to represent other things and tell a story while doing it. Beautiful!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
its about a guy …
its about a guy realising he’s gay.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Well, you know, you …
Well, you know, you should probably wear earphones. Well, to not confuse your next door neighbor. It was pretty cold out there and I didn’t know what to do. And I guess that’s what it’s all about. And he’s walking up to me… He’s going to watch one of these geeks…
Great lyrics performed in a non-fluffy way.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Epic song.
Epic song.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Bob Dylan is …
Bob Dylan is amazing!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
i love it because …
i love it because it confuses people.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Bob Dylan is …
Bob Dylan is friggin awesome! He is the best!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Really, its about …
Really, its about trying to set a standard of normalcy or someone striving to achieve someone elses definition of normal.
Person A puts on airs like he’s above person B when he doesn’t have a clue about what person B is about. Person B is perfectly acceptable, and everyone understands this except Person A.
That’s what I get from it, anyway.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Much of it is in …
Much of it is in regards to reporters. Either Journalists (ie music journalists) news reporters. Lots of references, such as “Pencil in hand, eye’s in pocket (eyeglasses) nose to the ground (searching for news) well read, etc).
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
HA!
HA!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I prefer tombstone …
I prefer tombstone blues but this is awesome