Mr. Jones

"I love this song because there's so many levels to it. On one level, it's a simple guy song -- but it also has to do with all the things you dream about as a young musician, and how silly and sad and helpless it is to think that everyone's going to love you if you're famous. What do you think is going to be satisfying to get these dreams fulfilled? I can't tell you why I want some of the things I want, but I want...I want...I want..." - Adam Duritz

Sha la la la la la la

I was down at the New Amsterdam
Staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation
With the black-haired flamenco dancer
She dances while his father plays guitar
She’s suddenly beautiful
We all want something beautiful
Man, I wish I was beautiful

So, come dance this silence down through the morning
Sha la la la la la la la, yeah
Cut up, Maria!
Show me some of them Spanish dances
Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
‘Cause I want to be someone who believes

Mr. Jones and me tell each other fairy tales
And we stare at the beautiful women
"She’s looking at you. Ah, no, no, she’s looking at me."
Smiling in the bright lights
Coming through in stereo
When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely

I will paint my picture
Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All of the beautiful colors are very very meaningful
You know, gray is my favorite color
I felt so symbolic yesterday
If I knew Picasso
I would buy myself a gray guitar and play

Mr. Jones and me look into the future
We stare at the beautiful women
"She’s looking at you.
Uh, I don’t think so. She’s looking at me"
Standing in the spotlight
I bought myself a gray guitar
When everybody loves me, I will never be lonely

I’m never gonna be lonley

I want to be a lion
Everybody wants to pass as cats
We all wanna be big big stars but
We got different reasons for that
Believe in me because I don’t believe in anything
And I want to be someone to believe

Mr. Jones and me stumbling through the barrio
Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women
"She’s perfect for you.
Man, there’s got to be somebody for me."
I wanna be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone
just a little more funky
When everybody loves you, son,
that’s just about as funky as you can be

Mr. Jones and me staring at the video
When I look at the television, I want to see me
staring right back at me
We all wanna be big stars, but we don’t know why
and we don’t know how
But when everybody loves me, I’m going to be
just about as happy as I can be

Mr. Jones and me, we’re gonna be big stars..

(words by Adam Duritz)
(music by Adam Duritz & David Bryson)
(c)1993 EMI Blackwood Music Inc./Jones Falls Music BMI