Ballad of a Thin Man
| Ballad of a Thin Man | |
|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | |
| publication | July 1965 |
| length | 5:58 |
| Genre (s) | Blues rock |
| Author (s) | Bob Dylan |
| Label | Columbia Records |
| album | Highway 61 Revisited |
Ballad of a Thin Man is a rock song written by Bob Dylan . The song, which appeared on his sixth studio album Highway 61 Revisited for the first time in 1965 , has been covered frequently and is considered a classic of rock music. A large number of exegetes have dealt with the interpretation of the surrealist text.
Emergence
Dylan recorded the piece on August 2, 1965 at Columbia Records in Studio A. Acting producer was Bob Johnston . Work on the Highway 61 Revisited album was at its peak. On the same day, the musicians also recorded Queen Jane Approximately , Highway 61 Revisited , and Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues .
For Ballad of a Thin Man , Bob Dylan played piano, Mike Bloomfield lead guitar, Bobby Gregg drums, Harvey Goldstein bass and Al Kooper the organ. Musically speaking, the piece that is driven by the piano is blues rock . Dylan's play dominates the song. The organ in the background underlines the surrealistic echoes of the text and represents a strong contrast to the piano. It is reminiscent of the soundtrack of a horror film . Ballad of a Thin Man is very different from the other tracks on the album and the sessions. Dylan takes advantage of the chorus by addressing the ominous Mr. Jones, and there's a bridge that musically stands out from the verses. The song consists of eight stanzas (including the bridge).
content
The lyrics throw the protagonist of the piece - Mr. Jones - into a surreal and strange situation. He enters a room and finds a naked man. The fact that he is walking into the room with a pencil is considered by many to be a clue that Mr. Jones is a journalist, writer, or illustrator. Already in the first verse it is mentioned that Jones tries very hard to understand the situation, but fails (You try so hard // But you don't understand // Just what you'll say // When you get home) .
In the second verse, Mr. Jones tries to make himself understand the situation by asking questions. But the more he asks, the less everything makes sense to him and he almost gives up (And you say "Oh my God // Am I here all alone?") . The chorus follows again, alluding to something going on that Mr. Jones doesn't understand.
The third stanza confronts Mr. Jones with his own being. He wants to go to an event to see the "geek", a disfigured and strange person. However, she asks him how he feels as a "freak" and, to his horror, hands him a bone. Many see it as an allusion to homosexuality .
After the chorus has been played a third time, the bridge follows, which is played in slightly higher notes than the rest of the song. Almost spitefully, Mr. Jones is pointed out that he has many contacts with loggers in order to be informed by them if someone attacks his imagination. Nobody respected him, however, and everyone would expect him to write some kind of charity check . In these verses, the lyrical ego shows Jones' frustration in his social contacts. In the following stanza his methods are set out with which he compensates for this frustration.
He has contact with professors who praise him for his appearance and he disguises criminals with well-known lawyers. Jones has gone through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's works and it seems almost weary when the lyrical self notices Jones' erudition. Apparently, Mr. Jones reads to show it off. The choice of the author Fitzgerald does not seem accidental. While his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby has often been described as the great American novel of the 20th century , the other works have been forgotten over time. For many literary critics, Fitzgerald is also synonymous with drunkenness and despair.
The next two stanzas again contain motifs that suggest that Mr. Jones may be homosexual. A high-heeled sword swallower kneels in front of him, hands Jones back his throat and thanks him for the loan. In the penultimate verse, Jones is confronted with a dwarf who asks him to give him milk, since he is a cow.
The last stanza again gives the motif of coming into a room and is based on the first stanza. After describing Jones' gait and appearance, it is mentioned that there should be a law that Mr. Jones cannot just walk around freely and wear headphones.
Meaning of Mr. Jones
Bob Dylan never commented on the interpretation of his lyrics. Therefore, the different interpretations of critics, fans and colleagues were never confirmed. It cannot be dismissed out of hand that Ballad of a Thin Man is a very evil song. Many see it as a dark version of Like a Rolling Stone . In the song Yer Blues of the Beatles is decidedly on Dylan's Mr. Jones directed and that person as suicidal apostrophiert.