Bob Dylan: Ballad of a Thin Man Meaning

Ballad of a Thin Man Lyrics

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...

1. sanchitgahlot

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 1st 2010 !⃝

   This song is pretty simple.... It is instances of a man named mister jones, a simple ordinary guy like you and me, hence jones... and bob says it like it is our name-- " do U mister jones?
   verse by verse he tells mr jones "us" instances ===
   verse 1--we enter a room n we are totally not expecting to see a naked man( since we were there fr work involving pencil ie writing or drawing, or something creative..). wen seeing him we don't ask y he is naked maybe he needs our help, we just don't understand y he is naked, we ask who is that man but what do we have on or mind while saying this??? not the thought that he is just like us for sure otherwise we wudnt have asked who is that man in first place? n we are occupied by useless thoughts like wat will I say home,, wat if somebody sees me, I will be embarrassed, we forget to think how embarrassed naked man is feeling...
   the thing has simple "reason":: becoz you don't (in cases don't want to)kno wat it is, do you mr jones?
   
   verse2-- there are so many people involved in this verse... all different thoughts n ideas n perception.. verse tells us about our lost tolerence to person who is not able to understand us or who is a "pain in our ass" because he interprets wrong:: you ask guy1-- is this where it is?--
   bt guy2 interrupts you by pointing to you yelling-- its his-- you r puzzled don't have a clue wt he's saying so you ask back-- what's mine?-- guy3 misinterprets n puts on a weird "foolish stpid frustrating question-- well what is?-- by that time we go mad yell to god nobody understands me I am alone bt forget to even consider the fact that so many people have enuf care for us to be involved..
   this behaviour has a simple reason-- coz smthing is happening here bt you don't kno what it is do you mr. jones?(bob wants us to rethink whether what we think is wright or wrong is really right or wrong?
   
   ahh this verse is best-- we have many tv shows n tv news that this verse is pointing to:: we buy tickets to see what we would like to call a freak,( hope you see the irony) here referred as geek. we pay n enjoy to watch the bad, the deaths the accidents in news, the greatest most hillarious CRASHES!!? . This guy points you to the above logic, n now feeling it you exclaim "impossible" wen you r made sure that he is right wen he hands you the bone((like wat a dog would want to pay for.. no offence guys, I'm also one of mister jones after all)
   but there's a very valid and understandable reason, seriously...
   coz its not in control of our minds to think what is right or wrong is really right or wrong.. or is it mister jones?
   
   verse 4-5 r very similar-- you and me the mister jones r not bad people in our ways.. we are intelligent, read good booksetc... we have many contacts, we are very social, but why do you have them? coz they are useful to u? or will be in future? or have been in past? this person is my friend but I will not even talk to this other person because he/she is such a loser!! how do you know he/she's a loser. well you kno your hollow contacts wen you realise that they think you are just another guy who gives charity to reduce your tax, not their fault buddy its you who brought them in your life n appeared to them to be "professional" "a man who does everything for a reason". n they kno you have them coz you need them.. a person misunderstanding his friend but his friend understanding the person's point could be a bit tricky for them ... but if both of them misunderstand each other's words n actions.. Hell of bad thoughts n experience n judgements could break lose...
   but its not our fault, because "something(he doesn't tell what coz he is sure if we think n rethink the solution we will surely have the right answer) is happening but you don't know what it is, do you mister jones?(his unsurity depicts that he could be wrong.. we are able to kno what is happenning if we really think hard. n believe me what you think thinking hard is, is not thinking hard, there's always next level)
   __________________________________________________________
   either my trip is completely over or I'm too tired of think for the rest... but I will update it wen I think on it for sure.. :) they appear difficult for now..

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
2. LuannD

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 23rd 2010 !⃝

   I have to agree with Anonymous, March 22, 2009. I remember this song when it was first released on the Highway 61 album. Guaranteed, if there is only 1 song you remember from that album, it is Ballad of a Thin Man. From the first hearing, I knew Dylan was talking about reporters and journalists trying to get to the "real meaning" of his songs. He played quite a game with them by his answers to their questions. Ballad of a Thin Man was the famous Dylan smirk to these people.
3. jabril8

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 15th 2010 !⃝

   After changing from acoustic to electric guitar on his tour of England, Dylan received so much grief from media and fans alike. However, one reporter went too far and realy upset Dylan. This song is his reply to this reporter. The reporter accused Dylan of misleading and not caring about his fans. The lyrics say that the reporter doesnt really no anything about Dylan, neither does the fans. Dylan is showing them his soul (as portrayed by the naked man), yet, they still cant understand him (like the freaks in the song). So basically he is saying to the reporter: you think you know me, but you have no idea.
4. sourav

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 21st 2009 !⃝

   This song was during the English tour where Dylan was given a lot of grief for switching to electric and this reporter whose name I can't remember was the worst of all. This was Dylan's answer to him. This tour forms the old Otto Preminger movie Don't look back.
   Sourav in India
5. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 22nd 2009 !⃝

   This song is about a reporter from the times magazine who no matter what you tell them they will make up their own words.
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 25th 2009 !⃝

   the real meaning of this song is what i goin on around the world. it says he goes into harlem with his windows sealed

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. Commissioner

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 2nd 2008 !⃝

   You walk into the room
   with your pencil in your hand
   you see somebody naked and you ask
   who is that man
   you try so hard but you don't understand
   just what you'll say when you get home
   cause something is happening and you don't know what it is
   do you, Mr. Jones....
   
   
   My interpretation of this first verse is that Dylan is
   somehow, in a metaphorical way, describing the dilemma
   a returned Jesus would face.
   
   you walk into the room (Jesus returns)
   with your pencil in your hand (pencil here is a metaphor
   for penis which in itself, in this context, is a metaphor
   for what Jesus has in his hand...something like Sonny (James Caan) telling Clemenza that the gun should be hidden
   in the bathroom by someone reliable or Michael (Al Pacino)
   will walk out of the bathroom with just his penis in his hand. (Godfather)....
   
   you see somebody naked...Jesus sees Himself, metaphorically naked, without the metahorical gun as in that Godfather
   scene.
   He questions who he is (don't we all?)
   
   Mr. Jones is therefore a reference to Jesus

Latest Articles

• 
  A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park
• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)