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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 somebody 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 to 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
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 somebody 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 to 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
Lyrics submitted by itsmyownmind
Track duration: 05:57
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"He crosses himself and then he kicks his high heels."
In the Bible, (By the way, my opinion on whether the following Bible line is good or not will not be told) it says that men shouldn't wear female clothing.
I think this line is him telling that people will cross themselves, or proclaim their love for God, yet right afterwards, sort of break that promise. Commit a sin, in a sense. I think he's sort of making sense of that.
The two parts that have always left me confused though were the bits about the Sword-Swallower and the One-Eyed Midget. It seems pretty clear to me, within the context, that Dylan is referring to himself through these characters. What is with the kneeling and the crossing of himself and the clicking of his high-heels in the former verse? If you watch the interview, I think it all has to do with the stream-of-consciousness aspect of his convictions. In the case of the One-Eyed Midget, it might just be Dylan's poetic way of referring to himself as a dick, or at least through the eyes of the beholder.
The two parts that have always left me confused though were the bits about the Sword-Swallower and the One-Eyed Midget. It seems pretty clear to me, within the context, that Dylan is referring to himself through these characters. What is with the kneeling and the crossing of himself and the clicking of his high-heels in the former verse? If you watch the interview, I think it all has to do with the stream-of-consciousness aspect of his convictions. In the case of the One-Eyed Midget, it might just be Dylan's poetic way of referring to himself as a dick, or at least through the eyes of the beholder.
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...
I'm not Bob, so of course I can't say for sure. But it seems pretty obvious to me.
I've seen a youtube press conference wherein someone asks Dlyan who Mr. Jones is, and Dylan replies, "I can't tell you that, I'll get sued."
I've also heard many times that the song is about this amusing interview:
youtube.com/…
As far as homosexuality goes, the Village was a place where there were gay bars, and the whole scene was still very underground in 1965. I'm sure Dylan knew about it. When he met Allen Ginsburg in 1964, Ginsburg supposedly came on to him -- entirely plausible -- and Dylan was neither receptive nor freaked out about it. So I don't think it's about a gay encounter that Dylan had.