Ballad of a Thin Man
E106969
"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a dark, surreal Bob Dylan song known for its biting critique of clueless establishment figures and its haunting, piano-driven sound.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Ballad of a Thin Man canonical | 3 |
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
musical work
ⓘ
song ⓘ |
| album | Highway 61 Revisited ⓘ |
| artist | Bob Dylan ⓘ |
| chronologyPosition | track on side two of Highway 61 Revisited ⓘ |
| composer | Bob Dylan ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| famousLine | "Something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?" ⓘ |
| genre |
folk rock
ⓘ
rock ⓘ |
| hasCoverVersionBy |
Ben Sidran
ⓘ
Stephen Malkmus ⓘ The Grass Roots ⓘ |
| hasCriticalReception |
often interpreted as a critique of clueless journalists and establishment critics
ⓘ
widely regarded as one of Bob Dylan's most scathing protest songs ⓘ |
| hasEra | mid-1960s Bob Dylan electric period ⓘ |
| hasInstrumentation |
bass guitar
ⓘ
drums ⓘ organ ⓘ piano ⓘ saxophone ⓘ |
| hasLyricalTheme |
alienation
ⓘ
critique of establishment figures ⓘ surreal imagery ⓘ |
| hasMainInstrument | piano ⓘ |
| hasMood |
dark
ⓘ
haunting ⓘ |
| hasMusicalFeature | minor-key, piano-driven arrangement ⓘ |
| includedIn | 1965 studio album Highway 61 Revisited ⓘ |
| includedInList | various critics' lists of greatest Bob Dylan songs ⓘ |
| isFollowedBy | Queen Jane Approximately ⓘ |
| isPrecededBy |
Highway 61 Revisited
ⓘ
surface form:
Highway 61 Revisited (title track)
|
| language | English ⓘ |
| livePerformance | frequently performed on Bob Dylan's 1965–1966 tours ⓘ |
| lyricist | Bob Dylan ⓘ |
| narrativeFocus | character Mr. Jones ⓘ |
| partOf | Highway 61 Revisited ⓘ |
| performer | Bob Dylan ⓘ |
| producer | Bob Johnston ⓘ |
| publisher | Duchess Music Corporation ⓘ |
| recordedAt | Columbia Studio A, New York City ⓘ |
| recordingDate | 1965-08-02 ⓘ |
| recordLabel | Columbia Records ⓘ |
| releaseDate | 1965-08-30 ⓘ |
| tempo | slow to mid-tempo ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.