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 will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. 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 say, "What's mine?" and somebody else says, "Well, what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God, am I here all alone?"
But something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. 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, Mr. 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
Ah, 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, Mr. 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, Mr. 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"
And you know something's happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. 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
'Cause something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard but you don't understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. 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 say, "What's mine?" and somebody else says, "Well, what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God, am I here all alone?"
But something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. 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, Mr. 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
Ah, 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, Mr. 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, Mr. 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"
And you know something's happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. 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
'Cause something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Lyrics submitted by itsmyownmind
Ballad of a Thin Man Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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"You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand"
Reporters in the ye olde days before recorders and iPhones with a voice recording option used to wander around with a notepad and pencil and make notes.
"You see somebody naked"
In the 1960s counter-culture movement, the leading wave before the hippies, it was nothing to see people naked in a commune or house shared by young people. If you weren't bothered, you were cool. Mr Jones, however, a reporter, is not cool, is trying to find out why someone is naked, is confronted by it all.
"Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones"
Mr Jones, the reporter, is mystified completely by the midget shouting "NOW!", the sword-swallower returning his throat, the geek who thinks HE's the freak, and so on. Sounds a lot like a circus, huh? That's because to an outsider that's what it is, a weird circus Mr Jones simply does not understand. But, he knows he needs to, because it's becoming relevant.
It's all about the media's inability to comment accurately on or to even understand the counter-culture movement of the time, but knowing they had to comment because it was the new big deal.
By the way if you want a really good update 40 years later check out stereophonics "Mr Writer" about the backstabbing british press, ironically written by a Mr (Kelly) Jones....
But I'm very curious about the "homosexuality theory". How could Dylan write such obvious images unintentionally? th sword swallower, the milk, even "with your pencil in your hand", can be interpreted as sexual scenes. And it makes sense with "there ought to be a law against you comin around". That's what a lot of conformist people think about homosexuality. Maybe, Dylan is just killing two birds with one stone!
The meaning is closer to what people were saying about criticism of the establishment. I've always thought of it as having a bit of a generational meaning as well. F Scott Fitzgerald was popular primarily in the 20's - a generation or two before Dylan's. The youngest people to have read Fitzgerald in the 20's would have been about 60 when this song was released. Add this to all the contacts, professors, charities, great lawyers, etc that Mr. Jones consorts with, and it suggests that he's an older, educated, upper class individual who, despite all his knowledge and power, can't comprehend the changes happening in society in the 1960's - namely the youth 'counter-culture.'
I suspect that the nonsensical verses are deliberately designed to confuse us and thus put us in Mr. Jones' shoes, and little more. You have to be careful not to read TOO much into lyrics sometimes, especially Dylan's. Not every line has an explicit and carefully constructed meaning. He used to write songs like this in about 15 minutes.
Forget all the Brian Jones/gay references. This tune is one of Dylan's easiest to figure out--it is a rip on the clueless media poking around and trying to figure out Dylan's world, even though they are too lazy/incompetent to even bother listening to his music. Hysterical. I bet he had quite the time writing it!
For sure Bob was mad at someone or at a group of people...
On the other hand, I've always wondered about the title:
Why "Ballad of a Thin Man"? Who is the Thin Man? Is he singing the ballad or is he being sung in the ballad? And why is he thin? Is it a symptom of a sickness or a lack of something, or probably he is not being fed enough and is starving? Or is it only a metaphore of emptinees? Or something else? I wonder if anyone has ever though about it...
Let's take it verse by verse:
First verse: Mr. Jones comes by and finds his girl in bed with another guy. He just walks out.
Second version: He ask God why this is happening, and God tells him (or he thinks God tells him) I am taking everything away from you.
Third verse: He visits a carnival and visits the Geek (a person who bites the heads off of chickens.) A geek is a freak by way of his actions. For some reason, the two of them feel a connection.
Fourth verse: Mr. Jones has a lot of friends from different walks of life, but they aren't real friends...they always take advantage of him. He is also a very smart guy and feels more comfortable with the other typical "nerds" (academics.)
Fifth verse: A sword swallower at a carnival. Another guy who is a freak by way of what he does. He and Mr. Jones find common ground again. (Great line: "Here is your throat back, thanks for the loan." A sword swallower would scratch the back of his throat while performing. Well instead of using his own, why not use Mr. Jones'? You know the feeling when you are upset, especially after a relationship ends. It feel like a lump or hurt in the back of your throat.)
Sixth verse: A one-eyed midget is a freak...not cause of what he does (like the geek, sword swallower, and Mr. Jones) but because of the way he looks. He gets in Mr. Jones face and bascially says, "Look at me. I am a freak. Tell me what is so freakin' weird about you. Nothing huh? Get the hell out of here!"
At this point, you would figure that Mr. Jones has learned his lesson...unfortuantely no.
Seventh verse: He goes back home and once again his girlfriend cheats on him and he is the one that apologizes. "He puts his eyes in his pockets"...He acts like he sees nothing. "There ought to be a law
Against you comin' around You should be made To wear earphones" Bob is saying this should be illegal to keep you from being hurt. You should have to wear earphones so you don't have to listen to your girl lie to you again.
Will Mr. Jones ever learn?
Maybe the Counting Crowes know..."Mr. Jones" is kinda a sequel to "Ballad of a Thin Man". Both the lead singer and Mr. Jones want to be more normal and life of the party.
I am positive this is about a reporter, just like the one Dylan abused in "Don't look back." All of the circus freak references are Dylan's colorful, acid-influenced, deliberately confusing references to himself, Dylan, abusing that poor sap of a reporter. Look past the literal references to the circus freaks, and just picture Dylan, as seen in the eyes of this very "square" news journalist. He sees Dylan as a freak, like many see the circus performers as freaks. It is a most sinister tune, w/ ominous piano parts played by Dylan himself to lend itself to the stern message aimed at this poor reporter.
BTW, why do you think he refers to him as "Mr. Jones?" He is part of that establishment Dylan and others spent most of their time mocking in the 60's. Dylan isn't being polite calling this guy "Mr. Jones," rather, he is being condescending, "you don't know what is happening here, do you, Mr. Jones." It is said w/ a sneer.
There's more than just what harper mentioned:
"and you say impossible, as he hands you a bone."
hands you a bone?
"you have many contacts/out there among the lumberjacks"
vague, but definitely sexual; lumberjacks 1. fell trees all day, 2. appear superficially straight but, like sailors, have a reputation for sodomy...I'd love to know exactly what Dylan had in mind with this one...
"you've been with the professors/and they've all liked your looks"
this one's pretty self-explanatory.
"you've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Books" - who was one of the greatest misogynists of the 20th Century...
and finally, the biggest one:
"you walk into a 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 coming around/you should be made to wear earphones ([alt.] telephones)"
Let's analyze this carefully. Picture Joe Camel; that long nose, the puffed-out cheeks; picture the outline of his face. It's a phallus. What's got its eyes in your pockets and its nose on the ground? Your penis. "There ought to be a law against you coming around" - hehehehe. this one makes me laugh. "You should me made to wear earphones." (Earphones are for PROTECTION. Just like you wear a condom to stop you from "coming around.")
Every line in song is just more incredibly childish and immature than the last -- it's like something 13 year old boys write in the backs of their Latin books. But the genius of it has stood the test of time -- most people who've heard it a thousand times still have no idea what it really means.
Just one of those things that makes you wanna say "Hmmmm..."
"Joe Camel was actually born in Europe. The caricatured camel was created in 1974 by a British artist, Nicholas Price, for a French advertising campaign that subsequently ran in other countries in the 1970s. Indeed, [advertising executive John E.] O'Toole recalled a visit to France many years ago during which he glimpsed Joe Camel wearing a Foreign Legion cap. The inspiration behind Mr. Price's cartoon was the camel, named Old Joe, that has appeared on all Camel packages since the brand's initial appearance in 1913."
nytimes.com/1991/12/12/business/…