Inspired by Sebastian Smee’s article in The Washington Post.
Sebastian Smee, The uncanny Bob Dylan song that inaugurated an era of dread, The Washington Post, 18 April 2025 at 10:00 a.m. EDT.
Smee writes, “Dylan is the Picasso of popular music. His ‘Ballad of a Thin Man’ speaks more powerfully to what it feels like to be alive in 2025 than anything I can think of.” … “But people particularly remember the refrain, and the descending, deeply ominous minor-key melody from which the lyrics themselves feel inseparable: “You know something is happening but you don’t know what it is/ Do you, Mr. Jones?’”… “Knowing something is happening but having no idea what that might be — only that you yourself are somehow implicated — is, for instance, the premise from which the entire career of David Lynch sprang. Bill Pullman in ‘Lost Highway,’ Justin Theroux in ‘Mulholland Drive,’ and Laura Dern in ‘Inland Empire’ are all versions of Mr. Jones.”
I often feel that Humanists I am engaging with (and including self at times) are Mr. Jones. Knowing something is happening but don’t know what it is. I and my colleagues who had decades of experience and the knowledge-skills seems unable to penetrate the thinking. We do know because we are not the Thin Man (or not the Thin Woman or just not the Thin Person). We have weight on us.
BOB DYLAN. BALLAD OF A THIN MAN
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?
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Bob Dylan
Ballad of a Thin Man lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
REFERENCES
U.S. Route 61: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_61
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Neville Buch
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