mr. jones
"Mr. Jones and me.. we don't see each other much anymore"

"So you wanna be a rock 'n' roll star, well listen now to what I say -- just get an electric guitar, and take some time and learn how to play.. just learn how to play." With this, Adam begins his updated version of the song that propelled Counting Crows into the limelight. We hear him before the song begins: "This is a song about my dreams." Shattered dreams. Dreams overshadowed by reality and ultimately realized to be vain hopes.

"Mr. Jones" exploded into America's radio scene in '93/'94, an upbeat tune thinly disguising Adam's desire to be famous - thinking that when fame is achieved, love and admiration will come along. When this dream was realized to be a mirage, Adam dropped out of the public eye for a while, overcome by the grim truth. Here we find a more mature rendering of the classic.

As before, we all long to be "..big, big, big, big, big, big stars.." but now Adam brings it to our attention that "..we get second thoughts about that." Rather than pleading for someone to believe in him, he admonishes those that are listening to not believe in him; don't waste your hopes on him.

One of the most clever aspects of this new Jones is the incorporation of lyrics from "Miller's Angels" in the vocals. The new words fit perfectly: "Can't you hear me? Cause I'm screaming. Well, I did not go outside yesterday. Don't wake me, cause I was dreaming - and I might just stay inside again today." The perfect depiction of a man frightened of his young dreams.

The song ends perfectly with Adam metaphorically describing how he now feels about fame. Adam said in an interview once that he would rather be seen as an artist than let himself be caught up in the center of it all again. He captures this perfectly with the final line of the song: "Mr. Jones and me.. we don't see each other much anymore."