Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones

[SunKing]

Yer Blues (Lennon/McCartney)

Yes I'm lonely wanna die
Yes I'm lonely wanna die
If I ain't dead already
Ooh girl you know the reason why.

In the morning wanna die
In the evening wanna die
If I ain't dead already
Ooh girl you know the reason why.

My mother was of the sky
My father was of the earth
But I am of the universe
And you know what it's worth
I'm lonely wanna die
If I ain't dead already
Ooh girl you know the reason why.

The eagle picks my eye
The worm he licks my bone
I feel so suicidal
Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones
Lonely wanna die
If I ain't dead already
Ooh girl you know the reason why.

Black cloud crossed my mind
Blue mist round my soul
Feel so suicidal
Even hate my rock and roll
Wanna die yeah wanna die
If I ain't dead already
Ooh girl you know the reason why.

Hmmhhh...I feel so suicidal
Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones...?_!?Hmmhhh

Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob Dylan)
from: "Highway 61 Revisited "

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 say, "What's mine?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone?"

Because 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

Because 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 just 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

Because something is happening here
But 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"

Because something is happening here
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 here
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

Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Comments?

[PaulBearer]

Is Mr. Jones actually Brian Jones?

[Eggman]

I was thinking exactlly the same: Brian Jones

[byrdsmaniac]

Paul said:

Is Mr. Jones actually Brian Jones?

No, not at all.
First of all, only Dylan knows what, if anything, his lyrics mean, but "Mr. Jones" in that song was the
type of an unhip but full of self-importance
"establishment" learned person; a college graduate
business type intellectual who fancied himself well-informed, but clueless when coming into contact
with what (at the time) was the 'younger generation'.


This song was very much a product of the times, and the "generation gap" that much was made of. The message of the song was that the 'old folks' (30 year olds and above) were 'out of it', 'not cool' and unhip.

Mr. Jones may have felt suicidal (getting to JL's comment) because many of the people in that age group couldn't relate to their kids, their wives, etc. They had fought WW2 and now worked hard at their jobs, but the "happy ever after" existence they'd expected was starting to fall apart, and their kids didn't respect them.

I'm not sure what connection JL was making.
Listen to the Jefferson Airplane song "Lather" to get a feel for how kids saw their elders as less than heroes.

No way this song could apply to Brian Jones, who would probably have been considered 'cool'.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. No clues there; trust me.

[Forum Manager]

Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?


there definitly was something going on that the people didnt know about

[TotalInformation]

Lennon would have empathized with Jones' alienation from the young counterculture, in that Lennon was sitting here looking at all these people believe Faul was Paul -- no one seemed to be in his tree.