Search by Title

A	B	C	D	E	F	G
H	I	J	K	L	M	N
O	P	Q	R	S	T	U
V	W	X	Y	Z	#

Browse Categories Random Songfact Random Category Add to Songfacts Take the Quiz SongFAQ Get the Newsletter E-Mail Us Message Boards Full Interviews Lyrical Pursuit Song Fallacies

Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

"Mr. Jones" is Marty Jones, a friend of lead singer Adam Duritz. Before Duritz joined Counting Crows, they were in a band together called The Himalayans.

This was written by lead singer Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson. On an episode of VH1's Storytellers, Adam explained: "It's really a song about my friend Marty and I. We went out one night to watch his dad play, his dad was a Flamenco guitar player who lived in Spain, and he was in San Francisco in the mission playing with his old Flamenco troupe. And after the gig we all went to this bar called the New Amsterdam in San Francisco on Columbus and we got completely drunk. And Marty and I sat at the bar staring at these two girls, wishing there was some way we could go talk to them, but we were too shy. We kept joking with each other that if we were big rock stars instead of such loser, low-budget musicians, this would be easy. I went home that night and I wrote a song about it. I joke about what it's about, that story. But it's really a song about all the dreams and all the things that make you want to go into doing whatever it is that seizes your heart, whether it's being a rock star or being a doctor or whatever. Those things run from 'all this stuff I have pent up inside of me' to 'I want to meet girls because I'm tired of not being able to.' It is a lot of those things, it's about all those dreams, but it's also kind of cautionary because it's about how misguided you may be about some of those things and how hollow they may be too. Like the character in the song keeps saying, 'When everybody loves me I will never be lonely,' and you're supposed to know that that's not the way it's gonna be. I knew that even then. And this is a song about my dreams."

A lot of people thought "Mr. Jones" was a reference to a character in the Bob Dylan song "Ballad of a Thin Man." Dylan is mentioned the line "I want to be Bob Dylan, Mr. Jones wishes he were someone just a little more funky."

Duritz: "This is a song that has been misinterpreted greatly, to say the least. I think people too often look for symbolism in songs when they're simpler than they seem. This, in particular, is much simpler than it must seem to a lot of people. I have heard everything from it being about some ancient blues man who taught me to play music, which is completely ridiculous, but like somebody's movie fantasy. I've also heard it's about my dick, which is even more ridiculous. When we did the interview for Rolling Stone, I walked with David Wilde into the Musee d'Orsay in Paris one day and the first thing that happened was these two kids ran up to us and said, 'Hey! You're the guy from Counting Crows, right?' And I said, 'yeah.' And he said, 'Is Mr. Jones about your dick?' I wanted to kill the guy because I knew where that was going to end up, which is the first paragraph of the article in Rolling Stone.

The Beatles did mention Bob Dylan's character in their song "Yer Blues." The line is "Feel so suicidal, just like Dylan's Mr. Jones."

This was the first single released by Counting Crows and also their biggest hit. The band's name refers to a phrase "Counting Crows" which means pointless, as in, "That is about as pointless as counting crow." (thanks, Robb - Pittsburgh, PA)

All the band members are huge fans of the group Big Star. When performing this song on Saturday Night Live, Duritz changed the line "I Wanna be Bob Dylan" to "I Wanna Be Alex Chilton." Alex Chilton is the frontman for Big Star, and "Alex Chilton" was the name of the song by The Replacements. In the Replacements song they referred to him as "An invisible man with a very visible voice." (thanks, Steve - Chino Hills, CA)

This song refers to a dancing woman named Maria: "Cut up Maria, show me one of them Spanish dances." This character appears in many of their songs. She is the main subject of their second single, "Round Here": "Maria says she's dying, through the front door I see her crying," and "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand." In "Mrs. Potter's Lullabye," Duritz sings, "There's a piece of Maria in every song that I sing." She is also mentioned on the background writing on the cover of August And Everything After. The identity of Maria has never been revealed, which leads many to believe that she is not a real person, but a symbol for loneliness, desire, or something similar. (thanks, Alden - College Park, MD)

Comments:

I thought Mr. Jones was a drink in the song...
- Xavier, Schenectady, NY

Well, whatever you choose, the name, Mr. Jones is a common name- a nobody. A common name will somettimes be changed when a person achieves fame and music itself sometimes transforms the name when the man beocmes a famous musician. Sometimes the musician will keep his own name, but quite often it changes after he/she achieves fame. Or seldom is each individual band member's name is known. For example, we know the group that played the song as "Counting Crows", but I still could not tell you each indvidual band member's name.- Hope that helps...
- chad, Wilmington, DE

For the longest time, I thought "Mr. Jones" was a metaphor for loneliness. Still a great song!
- Brad, Topeka, KS

Here's a blog abou the New Amsterdam features in the song: http://frazing.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/google-streeview/
- Fraser, Stirling, United Kingdom

I think it's clear that this song is about the times when think that if you would be rich and/or famous, you would get everything in life what you desire. Everybody who claims to be af Counting Crows fan knows that the singer soon discovered that this wasn't the case. That's why, in live versions, the lyrics change everytime, depening on his mood state.
- Jan, Antwerp, --

I'm a little bummed out that "Mr. Jones" is just a friend he got drunk with in a bar. I always thought "Mr Jones" was a clever euphamism for envyy and desire as in I'm Jonesn' for something or keeping up with the Jones'. In Jr. High School I had a friend that I would sneak off and smoke cigarettes with and he would always say "I'm Jonesn' for a smoke man I'm Mr. Jones Today..." To answer another post, there are several good songs about heroin even if this isn't one. Dead Flowers by the Stones is my favourite but CCKMP by Steve Earle, White Freight Liner by Townes Van Zandt and The Needle and the Damage Done by Neil Young are some others.
- Steve, Charlotte, SC

Maria is to Adam Duritz as Mary is to Bruce Springsteen.
- Ekristheh, Halath, United States

Stuart, I don't know the Nazareth song you referred to, so it's possible that the lines "So you wanna be a rock'n'roll star / Just listen now to what I say / Get yourself an electric guitar / and take some time and learn to play" appear in it, but those lines are from the song "So You Want To Be A Rock and Roll Star" by the Byrds. It's possible that Nazareth was quoting that song.
- Michael, Pittsburgh, PA

ok, so how the heck could this song be about a ding dong? hello? jesus that's just weird, i've known this song forever and the way i interpret is this: a guy has a friend that's kewler than him and they both wanna be famous and get the girls, i know there's more ways a song can be interpreted, but seriously, a penis?
- Sierra, Grand Forks, ND

I actually met Marty Jones while writing a magazine article about the search for Maria. He was a really cool guy who tells the background of "Mr. Jones" in the story: http://www.801mag.org/cs/ContentServer?childpagename=801Mag%2FJRN_Content_C%2FArticleDetail&c=JRN_Content_C&p=1165270039399&pagename=JRN%2F801Wrapper&cid=1175372067481
- Steve, New York, NY

The voice of Counting Crows' lead vocalist Adam Duritz is a magnificent instrument. "Mr. Jones" introduced music fans to Duritz' amazing facility at storytelling within the context of a song. Just try to sing along on "Mr. Jones" and after you finish gasping for breath, you realize just how phenomenal this performance is.
- Bertrand, Paris, France

I've just registered just to protest against a comment written WAY above: "A song doesn't need to be complex to be good. Just look at Rick Nelson's "Garden Party." Simple and pure, but flippin' great rock n' roll. - Tony, Boston, MA" The author's point was to say how there doesn't have to be a deeper meaning to a song to make it good (which I agree with, tho I do like meaningful lyrics) but unfortunately the example of 'garden party' doesn't work - garden party is packed with hidden meanings!! It's all about how disillusioned Rick Nelson was when he played at a concert and noone was interested in his new material, it's not ACTUALLY about going to a garden party at all! It's packed with metaphors and references! But back to Mr.Jones, love that song, a world-wide hit, I even heard it once in a while in the clubs in Spain when I lived over there, and that was 2001-2005! Can't believe ppl thought it was about his penis, I don't even get how that would work!
- Charlie, Durham, England

This song wasn't delete because alot of people still love this song! I know I do! I was raised off the Counting Crows.
- Natalie, Chiago, IL

I don't know about you people but I like this song.
- J, Jackson, GA

I can't believe the song isn't about his (deleted)...I seriously have thought that for the past 13 years...
- Cory, Morden, Canada

Even though it is about Marty Jones in this song, Bob Dylan's Mr Jones is rumored to be Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones
- Ty, Indianapolis, IN

If you listen to the version on the "Across A Wire - Live in New York" album, the song starts with the lyrics "So you wanna be a rock'n'roll star / Just listen now to what I say / Get yourself an electric guitar / and take some time and learn to play". These lyrics are borrowed directly from the Nazareth song Telegram.
- Stuart, Liverpool,, England

Everyone goes on about Maria being a real person, but Adam Duritz quite clearly says that shes not! Shes just meant to represent girls. But she does crop up in loads of songs, and the lyrics on the album cover are to the song "August and Everything After" which only gets played live. Nicole xx
- Nicole, Derby, England

aw this song is so cute and the lyrics are blunt so stop trying to interpret them
- Kayla, Cary, NC

this song is also sung by Hidden In Plain View but its not in any of their cds that they have made.
- stephanie, moreno valley, CA

This is just one of those great songs that will always be taken out of context. Adam Duritz wrote this song as a memory of a fun conversation he and his friend, Marty (Mr.) Jones once had at a bar. Simple as that. Nothing more, nothing less. A song doesn't need to be complex to be good. Just look at Rick Nelson's "Garden Party." Simple and pure, but flippin' great rock n' roll.
- Tony, Boston, MA

To set this straight, the idea is to get many chicks and friends or whatever by becoming famous, like being in a rock band or something. Great song with great lyrics, easy to play on a band.
- Jo-C, Lima, Peru

I think this repeated "heroin" comment is a prank. It appears in the comments field of nearly every song I have researched on Songfacts. If someone were to post the songfact for "Veni, Creator Spiritus" or Sister Janet Mead's "The Lord's Prayer", someone would be sure to comment "Totally a heroin song." At least, this is how it seems to me.
- Ekristheh, Halath, United States

I recommend that all who enjoy the music sung by Adam and backed up by the beautiful tempraments of the band itself is best heard through Across A Wire - Live In New York City. As Adam said best between songs "We're playing some of these electric songs because they've changed so much and because I think we really know how to play them now." So if you want to hear the meaning of the songs you love (especially Mr Jones)the album encapsulates so much of the current intention. You can actually feel his voice tremble with emotion and deepen with feeling, it may just be my imagination but I can actually hear everything they really want to say. I would love to see many more albums like this one. In regards to Mr Jones, why would you put a song to detrament by explaining it through him naming his dick or atributing great creativity to drugs, let it be what it is and find beauty in the pictures it creates. At the end of the day I think the intepretation says more about the person interpreting it than the person who's song it actually is.
- Lisa, Perth, Australia

I always thought the song was about his penis.
- Cherie, NY, NY

i agree with whoever said that this is one of those songs that are great because you can put yourself and your experiences into the song. I must say that saying this song is about heroin is a bit of a stretch- especially because there's barely any evidence in the song to support it. Sure, it talks about his guitar, but that's the only connection i can make between your argument and the song.
- Beth, Livonia, MI

Great song with great lyrics! My favorite...I will paint my picture, Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray All of the beautiful colors are very very meaningful.
- Dan, Columbia, MD

Funny, this song makes me think of a good good friend of mine when we were younger. At the time we really started listening to it, alot of the lyrics point to our real life. the first four lines point to my (at the time) blond girlfriend and also the black haired girl my friend was dating, who was also a dancer. And the line "She dances while his father plays guitar" also makes us think of the fact that there familes were in business for a short time. I could really get into, but it's a great song that definatly will be a favorite of mine for awhile...
- John, Cleveland, TN

This song is very deep to me. It reminds me of how I felt when my girl and I broke up, at the same time my uncles girl left him also. We both just hung out together getting drunk and high talking about our women. This song is about two guys who feel alone and just need someone to care about them. Luckily my uncle and I both got back with our girls. This song lets me see how lonely we could have ended up.
- Dante, Here, China

this is actually a really good song. While everyone around them was jumping on the commercial pop gravy train, these guys had the guts to come out with a song that actually had meaning to the lyrics. for this, i applaud.
- Matt, Millbrae, CA

I think that Mr Jones is Duritz alter ego and when he gets really drunk or high or whatever mr jones is released, that´s my intepretation for that song.
- Fabian, Nogales, Mexico

the song also seems like it could go along with the play "the death of a salesman."
- ben, weymouth, MA

i understand how this song was supposed to be about adams friend, but i have a different interperitation. i know it is not what adam intended, but i think that is partly why "mr. jones" is such an amazing song: eeeverybody can find a way to make this song very personal to themselves. however lame some interperatations are, if they mean something to that person, then so be it! i hope this is taken into consideration
- michelle, Montreal, United States

I used to think this song was about a skizophrenic, who became someone else when he lacked confidence, and eventually believes everybody likes this alter ego more than him. There is a wonderful acoustic version of this; it is to die for, except for the fact that they remove my favorite line: "Mr. Jones and mr, staring at the video; when I look at the television I want to see me, staring right back at me."
- Pat, Montreal, Canada

i would like to know why the drug that rock songs are always about is heroine. this is not about heroine. i highly doubt that there are many good songs about heroine.
- Brittany, waverly, NY

I met Adam Duritiz in 200 when I was working at a local radio station, I asked him about the inspiration for this song and "Omaha"... This has nothing to do with drugs... WHY, why does everyone think Heroin is the bassis for ALL ROCK songs... Serriously, when ever someone says "This song is about heroin" I ignore the post... Hey you know that song, "Happy birthday" it's about Heroin... yeah they wrote it about taking smack for the first time, you know your "birthday as and adict. Se how stupid that sounds?
- MOnty, Omaha, NE

I heard one theory from someone who thought that "Mr.Jones" was a liquor-brand. so if you get the lyrics a bit wrong it might be "Pass me a bottle of Mr.Jones" - and later when he sings "Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with this black-haired flamenco dancer" he's drunk and it's just the booze talking.. hehe, wouldn't put too much weight into that theory though..
- TorbjÃ?rn, Trondheim, Norway

have any of you guys heard of the movie "beautiful women" ? i don't kno when the movie or song came out but after i saw the movie i was convinced that it was connected. for one, the bar where they hung out was "mr jones's". when they were sitting in that building they were talkin bout the man being in love with the girl and he said "we all want somthing beautiful" . the name of the movie is beautiful women. and i don't kno exactly where new amsterdam is but im pretty sure its up in yankee teritory so that maybe also the setting of the movie.....there are more things but i havn't seen the movie in a while any one else see the connection?
- katie, royston, GA

Duritz also substituted "Dave Lowery" of Cracker for "Bob Dylan" on another TV performance, Duritz was also wearing a Cracker T Shirt during this performance
- Nick, Arlington Heights, IL

I don't care who he says it's about. Mr. Jones is Lester Bangs.
- Matt, Durham, NH

Adam knows she was looking at me. And i did go and talk to (and make a damn fool out of myself) with the one i had my eye on. But maybe if i had been a rock star....
- marty, eugene, OR

ive got this mate david who believes the "Mr Jones" song by the Counting Crows is a freaking cover for crist sake. I hope this and other entries on the internet and tv/publications alike will set him straight. GOOD SONG and written by Adam Duritz and Counting Crows!
- rod, ipswich, Australia

I like the idea of Mr. Jones being Adam's alter ego. I think that it really shows the difference between a person who is sober, and a person who is high or drunk (Mr. Jones). Either way it's a great song that never got the respect it deserved.
- Matt, St. Charles, MO

jeffq who posted the first comment is obviosly confused. I would like to know where you heard that Adam had a herion adiction and pawned off his guitar before shows??? do you know how ridiculous you sound?
- katy, Eden Prairie, MN

This is about lead singer Adam Duritz' heroin addiction. Mr. Jones is his dealer, and the hardships of being a heroin addict. The band was named after a favorite pastime of his whilst flying high off of heroin; counting crows. He would usually pawn off his guitar for drug money and the rest of the band would have to go buy it back before every show.
- jeffq, Nekoosa, WI

Adam Duritz said on VH1 Storytellers that the song was written when he and a friend were listening to his friends father (who was a flamenco guitar player) play at a bar called the 'New Amsterdam'. There were all of these pretty girls at the bar, and dancing to the music. 'Mr Jones' and Adam were drinking and talking about how they would have the nerve to talk to these women if they were famous. They then go on to dream about how all of their problems would be solved if they were famous.
- Jeremy, Gonzales, LA

could be what he wants to be but is to scared to try
- jaffa, auckland, New Zealand

"Jones" can mean a passion, preoccupation, addiction or a craving... Mr. Jones is the singer's alt-ego. Who craves fame beliving it will bring him love and happiness. The singer is unsure of how people see him, do they see the real him or the fame. "She's looking at you, I don't think so. She's looking at me." Thank you to Bill for explaining this to me, it's a great song! Karen :-)
- Karen, Virginia Beach, VA

Mr. Jones is not inspired by the Mr. Jones in the Dylan song. It's about Marty Jones one of Adam's friends from the Bay Area. Check any Crows press ever to back this up.
- Richard, Nederland, TX

Could Mr. Jones be what the singer turns into when he's drunk.........somebody check it ?? "Pass me the bottle Mr. Jones..."
- Live Freak, Beirut, Other