I heard a rumor that in the song, when he talks about Mr. Jones, he is refering to his penis. Now, I don’t know the validity of this, but if you read the lyrics, it kinda makes sense, but you have to twist his words around. Anyone know of this rumor, or if it’s valid or not? Just curious.
I’ve heard the rumor as well. At the same time, I heard that the lead singer said Mr. Jones wasn’t his penis.
I think that you really need to torture the lyrics before they start talking like a penis. It sounds like quite a cheeky penis to begin a conversation with a woman.
No, it isn’t true. Adam Duritz, who wrote the song, is on record as saying that the song is about literally what it’s about - a time he and a friend were at a bar, watching a pretty girl and wishing they were famous so they could impress her. There’s no metaphor in there.
There was a Staff Report that covered this question.
To my minds ear I took it as a look at a sensitive persons experience with the dichotomy of popular fame.
The line:
She’s looking at you (the real person), I don’t think so, she’s looking at me (the guy she saw on MTV).
Mr.Jones and “Me” being aspects of the same person, just not the same self.
http://www.thegrid.net/dlebarre/Lisa/
You have to scroll down to where it says Mr. Jones. There really is a Mister jones. His first name is Martin, and he’s a friend of Adam’s from the old days. The song is pretty autobiographical. Martin’s dad played the guitar in this club, and Martin and Adam used to go there and pretend they were famous, and daydream about how it would be when they were. The Lisa who runs the site in the above link has met the band on several occasions, and been present for different recording sessions (hence her large supply of bootlegs).
Must. . . resist. . .
Band name!
The feel I always got from the song was that two friends were in a bar/club, pointing out pretty girls who’d probably never give them the time of day, and teasingly urging each other to go make a move.
You know how it goes! “Whoa, check out that girl over there! She’s looking at you! Go over and talk to her.” “I don’t think so, dude…”
Two awkward, shy guys egging each other on to make passes at girls they’ll NEVER have the nerve to approach.