Counting Crows – Mr. Jones

"Mr. Jones" as written by Charles Gillingham, Matthew Malley, David Bryson, Adam Duritz and Steve Bowman....
Sha, la, la, la, la, la, la
Mmm
Uh huh

I was down at the New Amsterdam
Staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr Jones strikes up a conversation
With a black-haired flamenco dancer
You know, she dances while his father plays guitar
She's suddenly beautiful
We all want something beautiful
Man, I wish I was beautiful

So come dance the silence down through the morning
Sha la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Yeah
Uh huh
Yeah

Cut up, Maria!
Show me some of that Spanish dancin'
Pass me a bottle, Mr Jones
Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
'Cause I want to be someone who believes
Yeah

Mr Jones and me
Tell each other fairy tales
And we stare at the beautiful women
She's looking at you
Ah, no, no, she's looking at me
Smilin' in the bright lights
Coming through in stereo
When everybody loves you
You can never be lonely

Well, I'm gonna paint my picture
Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All of the beautiful colors are very, very meaningful
Yeah, well, you know gray is my favorite color
I felt so symbolic yesterday
If I knew Picasso
I would buy myself a gray guitar and play

Mr Jones and me
Look into the future
Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women
She's looking at you
I don't think so
She's looking at me
Standing in the spotlight
I bought myself a gray guitar
When everybody loves me
I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
Said I'm never gonna be
Lonely

I wanna be a lion
Yeah, everybody wants to pass as cats
We all wanna be big, big stars
Yeah, but we got different reasons for that
Believe in me
'Cause I don't believe in anything
And I wanna be someone to believe, to believe, to believe
Yeah!

Mr Jones and me
Stumbling through the Barrio
Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women
She's perfect for you
Man, there's got to be somebody for me
I wanna be Bob Dylan
Mr Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
When everybody love you
Oh! Son, that's just about as funky as you can be

Mr Jones and me
Starin' at the video
When I look at the television, I wanna see me
Staring right back at me
We all wanna be big stars
But we don't know why, and we don't know how
But when everybody loves me
I'm wanna be just about as happy as I can be
Mr Jones and me
We're gonna be big stars


Lyrics submitted by Idan

"Mr. Jones" as written by Ben G Mize Adam Fredric Duritz

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Mr. Jones song meanings
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201 Comments

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  • +9
    My InterpretationAlright, I feel like I have understood many of the lyrics that adam uses in Mr. Jones. Even though this song is played out on the radio, the lyric are very deep and meaningful. As someone who has a similar mental disorder, I felt like i was able to understand everything Adam was conveying. The first couple lines is about his misinterpretation of what society considers a beautiful girl. Mr Jones is someone that is original and does not fit into societies norms, and is therefore more confident and happier. "yellow haired girl" means attractive blonde and Adam overlooks the dancer. Mr jones however is looking at a girl that doesn't meet the eye to someone as attractive in the television but has no much originality and personality that she is much more beautiful than what is first presented to the eye.

    When they are standing from a distance to an attractive girl they talk amongst themselves that she is looking at each of them but then when they address the women, the focus is quickly directly to mr jones because the narrator doesnt think hes really beautiful and funky enough to get the girl that he had the confidence that she was looking at him from a distance.

    Loneliness is a very important phrase that Adam uses. The fear of being lonely keeps us all from being lions and chasing our dreams. We all want to be loved by everyone and will prevent ourselves from being lions to protect that. The only way you can be loved by everyone is to be ultra confident and funky, unlike society wants you to be, and what the narrator is desperately seeking.
    sbml777on July 09, 2012   Link
  • +6
    General CommentI can't possibly read through 5 years worth of posting here, but what I have read doesn't seem to mention this, so here's my theory.

    Have you ever heard someone say they were "jonesing" for something. Like, you're REALLY craving some ice cream, so you say you're "jonesing for some ice cream." I think that is the reference here. Mr. Jones is Adam's craving for fame and popularity. Read through the lyrics and picture it that way, it just makes perfect sense. For example, Adam is down at the New Amsterdam staring at a yellow haired girl, but he'd really rather be striking up a conversation with a black haired flamenco dancer (which would not be in New Amsterdam).

    With this theory in mind, I think it makes the VH1 Storytellers performance take on a whole darker, sadder tone. "Mr. Jones and me, we don't see each other much anymore" -- meaning now that he's got everything he use to want he never finds the time to sit back and fantasize about all of the great things he wants. This is just a brilliant song.
    David7183on April 19, 2007   Link
  • +5
    Song MeaningThis song is about fulfilling your dreams, fantasizing, wishing to fall in love, and realizing that even if this happens, it might not be as heavenly as the TV makes it out to be... "we all want to be big stars...we don't know why." the ultimate moral to me is to enjoy the time you have in life, no matter what it may be, and learn to appreciate the beauty right in front of you
    DrewLucason May 12, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Commentwith respect to Adam's personal explanations of the lyrics, my personal rendering deals with applying the dictionary definition of "jones"
    jones /jōnz/
    Noun: A fixation on or compulsive desire for someone or something, typically a drug; an addiction.
    Verb: Have a fixation on; be addicted to.

    with this, a possible reading can be extrapolated where two personalites from the same person, one being the speaker in active addiction, the other being the real person, both staring at their lives, concerned with the future, and engaging in battle between who is more worthy of beauty and happiness.

    W.
    infinitecompleteon April 22, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI think it means more than one thing, myself.
    the wretchedon March 01, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Commentthe guy from counting crows who wrote this song said in VH1 it's about really just wanting to be a rockstar...
    babyfabyon July 23, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Commenti love this song! i dont get the meaning at all....
    aerosmith4evaon April 11, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General CommentIt's obvious what this is about. He's in a bar or something with his ex-bandmate and he's fantasizing about being famous and what he would do if he was. A great upbeat song, although I find it is overrated. It's funny how the Crows haven't produced any songs quite like this one, most of their other songs have been less commercial. Not that this song is overly commercial, just a lot more radio-friendly than many of his other songs. To be honest, I don't think they knew how popular this song would become...but it truly has a great sound to it, and deserves all the glamor it gets. The rest of that album is great as well, and has more profound and meaningful songs than this one, but I would say that this one sounds the most upbeat and fun.
    komickazeon May 05, 2011   Link
  • +2
    Song MeaningThe singer is saying that beauty standards are not a sheer preset tokenized representation/expectation of what society's programmed, naively following this will not lead to true appreciation and ultimately happiness ...

    People compete and fight amongst each other for what they were told they should find beautiful, without ever thinking of what they find beautiful ...

    "Lions don't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep" - Imam Al-Shafi'i
    redressintruthon January 09, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI love this song. I think it's about trying to find some kind of meaning in life: something to believe in when you "don't believe in anything." The singer hopes he can find meaning, happiness, and a kind of immortality in celebrity.
    zooeyon April 05, 2002   Link

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