Ballad of a Thin Man

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"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, originally released in 1965 on Highway 61 Revisited, with live versions released on Before the Flood (1974), Bob Dylan At Budokan (1979), Real Live (1984), Hard to Handle (video, 1986), The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998) and on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (2005). "Ballad of a Thin Man" has been extensively performed live throughout Dylan's career, up to this day.

A dark and menacing sounding song, "Ballad of a Thin Man" addresses a certain "Mr. Jones", telling him that he simply doesn't know what's "happening." The song's lyrics have Mr. Jones facing a wild, nonsensical, and hallucinatory world and the character is portrayed as a clueless poser who cannot deal with it all.

The "identity" of Mr. Jones has long been in dispute. When asked about it in an interview in 1965, Dylan responded:

::He's a pinboy. He also wears suspenders. He's a real person. You know him, but not by that name... I saw him come into the room one night and he looked like a camel. He proceeded to put his eyes in his pocket. I asked this guy who he was and he said, "That's Mr. Jones." Then I asked this cat, "Doesn't he do anything but put his eyes in his pocket?" And he told me, "He puts his nose on the ground." It's all there, it's a true story.^{[cite this quote]}

Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, in a 1981 interview recounted in David Gans' book Conversations with the Dead: The Grateful Dead Interview Book (New York: Citadel Underground, 1991), said that "'Ballad of a Thin Man' tells that person who's lame that they're lame, why they're lame, which is a very satisfying thing to do. Certainly something everybody knows about."^{[citation needed]}

In a mid-1980s interview with Q magazine, Dylan appeared to identify Mr. Jones as Max Jones, a former Melody Maker critic, supporting the theory that "Mr. Jones" was simply one of the many music critics who didn't "get" Dylan's songs, especially the more surreal ones he wrote in the mid-1960s.^{[citation needed]}

Yer Blues, from The Beatles' White Album, references the song. It contains the lyric I feel so suicidal, just like Dylan's Mr. Jones...

[edit] Covers

The Sports: The Sports Play Dylan & Donovan (1981)
Thee Fourgiven: Voilà (1986)
Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Picks: Pigus Drunkus Maximus (1987)
Janglers: Janglers Play Dylan (1992)
The Grass Roots: Where Were You When I Needed You (1994)
Calamity Jane: Outlaw Blues, Volume 2 (1995)
The Golden Earring: Love Sweat (1995)
Elliott Smith played the song live on occasion, and bootlegs of his cover exist
James Solberg: L.A. Blues (1998); Tangled Up in Blue: The Songs of Bob Dylan (1999)
The Grateful Dead: Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan (2002)
Robyn Hitchcock: Robyn Sings (2002)
Big Brass Bed: A Few Dylan Songs (2003)
Kula Shaker: "Kollected" (2003)
Ben Weaver: "Mojo- Dylan Covered" (2006)
Willard Grant Conspiracy: "Let it roll" (2006)
Jamie Saft Trio featuring Mike Patton: "Trouble - The Jamie Saft Trio Plays Bob Dylan" (2006)