1
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
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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i'd say that you'd be right for the most part in saying it's about closed minded person...i think it's more about someone who thinks he's better than everyone else and doesn't care to associate with (or finds it as justification to disrespect) those of other ideologies/values/social class/aesthetic qualities/knowledge (i would say our "thin man" is a good looking, old-monied, conservative, christian, college educated--maybe with a Ph.D.--, profession is probably existing off of the wealth of his fathers, socialite, and so on... He spends much of his time assessing other people but never took a moment to look at himself in the mirror and assess himself. Then a) when he is one day thrown amongst the "geeks" and "sword-swallowers" he begins to go insane because these "lower" people don't show him respect but, in fact, do the opposite and disrespect him and he can't see why these people dont' simply accept that he's better than them rather than just accempting himself that he's no better than anyone else. b) he, like the girl in "like a rolling stone," loses his wealth/status and he finds he has no one to turn to because he's no longer accepted by his other superficial socialites and those he joins on the lower tier are happy to see that he's fallen
I also think it could mean he is the modern-day equivalent to one of Rush Limbaugh's "ditto-heads" who has always had his conservative ideology reinforced without it having been developed...once his beliefs are challenged he has no defense but doesn't understand how anyone thinks he can be disagreed with and is forced to reassess himself...i think this is part of the whole meaning but i can't see it being only about this...
anyway, i've said enough, u get the idea
it's about someone with delusions of grandeur, who just discovered he wasn't who he thought he was (the man he sees naked and doesn't recognize is himself) and temporarily becomes schizophrenic or otherwise psychotic. He has visions that reveal what other people think of him. Most of the song is just nonsense that rhymes and paint interesting pictures in your mind that don't really represent anything concrete, except advance the general theme of the song: that this guy has a fantasy that he's someone he's not, and in his paranoid visions he's letting his imagination go with what people think of him. Athe end of the song he's back to normal, just depressed because his fantasy is destryoed.
wow--that's some really slanted tripe there son.