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Queen Jane Approximately
Queen Jane Approximately
Queen Jane Approximately
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"Queen Jane Approximately"
Single by Bob Dylan
from the album Highway 61 Revisited
A-side"One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)"
ReleasedAugust 30, 1965 (1965-08-30)
RecordedAugust 2, 1965
StudioColumbia, New York City
Genre
Length5:19
LabelColumbia
SongwriterBob Dylan
ProducerBob Johnston

"Queen Jane Approximately" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. It was released as a single as the B-side to "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" in January 1966. It has also been covered by several artists, including the Grateful Dead and The Four Seasons.[2]

Meaning

[edit]

Similar to other Dylan songs of this period, "Queen Jane Approximately" has the singer criticizing the subject of the song, warning her of an imminent fall from grace.[1] Although the song covers similar ground to "Like a Rolling Stone", "Queen Jane Approximately" is gentler and shows the subject some compassion.[3] The main point of criticism is that the subject lives in an inauthentic world filled with superficial attitudes and people and meaningless, ritualized proprieties.[4][5] However, the singer also invites the subject to come and see him if and when she is willing to break away from her superficial diversions and engage in an honest, authentic experience, or when she needs someone to ultimately pick up the pieces.[1][4]

The song is structured in five verses, in which the first two deal with Queen Jane's relationship with her family, the second two deal with her relationship with her "courtiers" and the last deals with her relationship with bandits.[6] This structure essentially maps out a path from those closest to her to a way out of her current situation, preparing for the last lines of the fifth verse where the narrator offers "And you want somebody you don't have to speak to / Won't you come see me Queen Jane?"[6] The song incorporates several attitudes towards the subject, including condescension, self-righteousness, contempt, compassion as well as sneering.[1]

There is a minority interpretation which suggests a darker meaning. In this view Queen Jane represents Dylan's heroin addiction and the lyrics amount to the self-reproach of the singer as he finds himself within the depths of the drug. In the first verse he has alienated his family. His mother sends back all his invitations. He finds his inventions tiresome, and he resorts to Queen Jane. The metaphor continues evoking the poppy, “when all the flower ladies want back what they have lent you”, the blackness of withdrawal and the resentment of his children, he resorts to Queen Jane. He ends with a plaint about the futility and monotony of his life, the doomsayers and sycophants surrounding him, coming down to ‘wanting somebody you don't have to speak to’. And so resorts to Queen Jane.

This interpretation is more in keeping with the historical circumstances of Dylan's personal life and within the context the music he was making on Highway 61 Revisited. There is nothing sentimental or soft about this album. Every track is full of hard truths with little sense of forgiveness as is suggested by the more common interpretation of this song. Dylan has also apparently acknowledged being in the throes of heroin addiction near the time he was writing this material. He has written no other song which has characterized that experience and it would be an odd piece of omission that he would not have done so. This solves the problem when Gill calls this song "the least interesting track" on Highway 61.

Cash Box described Dylan's version as a "medium-paced, twangy heart-breaker."[7] Cash Box described a cover version by the Daily Flash as a "funky, infectious, haunting reading of Dylan’s image filled tale of the travails of a young girl and a guy’s everlasting devotion."[8]

Identity of Queen Jane

[edit]

One of the persistent questions about the song is the identity of the Queen Jane to whom the title refers. Speculation about the subject has included the Tudor queens Lady Jane Grey and Jane Seymour.[3][5][6] Even more speculation has centered on Joan Baez, as the similarity of the names "Jane" and "Joan" allow the name 'Jane' to be a thinly veiled attempt to hide Baez's identity, Dylan's and Baez's reputations as the king and queen of folk music, and the souring of the relationship between Dylan and Baez around the time the song was written.[1][3][4][5] However, in 1965 Dylan himself told journalist Nora Ephron that "Queen Jane is a man".[4][9]

Style

[edit]

The lyrics are structured as a series of ABAB quatrain verses, with each verse followed by a chorus that is just a repeat of the last line of the verse, which is always "won't you come see me Queen Jane".[10] Each B line ends with a rhyme on "ain", while the A lines each end with a double-syllable rhyme, such as "cheek to / speak to" or "lent you / resent you".[10] The music is recorded with a "warts and all" philosophy consistent with the rest of the Highway 61 Revisited album.[1] The electric guitar is out of tune and clashes with the organ and piano chords, the bass has Spanish inflections, and the mix is raw with a sound similar to garage rock.[1][3][5] Musicians on "Queen Jane Approximately" include Dylan, Mike Bloomfield on electric guitars and Al Kooper and Paul Griffin on keyboards.

Live performances

[edit]

Despite being originally recorded in 1965, Dylan did not perform the song live until July 4, 1987, during a concert with the Grateful Dead. A performance of the song from July 19, 1987, was officially released on the live album Dylan & The Dead. As of 2019, Dylan has performed the song 76 times, most recently on November 6, 2013, in Rome, Italy.[11] In a 2005 poll of artists reported in Mojo, "Queen Jane Approximately" was listed as the number 70 all-time best Bob Dylan song.[12]

References

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Queen Jane Approximately

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"Queen Jane Approximately" is a written and performed by American , featured on his sixth studio album, Highway 61 Revisited, released on August 30, 1965, by . The track runs for 5:31 and was recorded during the album's sessions at Columbia's Studio A in on August 2, 1965, with Dylan accompanied by musicians including on organ, on guitar, and on bass. It was later issued as the B-side to Dylan's single "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)," which received radio play starting in late March 1966. The song's lyrics depict a mysterious figure referred to as "Queen Jane," portrayed amid social isolation and personal turmoil, with the narrator offering solace in lines like "Won’t you come see me, Queen Jane?" Musically, it blends rock elements with a melodic structure, shifting from caustic critique of privilege and vanity to a tender plea, exemplifying Dylan's evolving style during his electric period. Interpretations of the subject's identity vary; it has been speculated to reference folk singer , though Dylan ambiguously remarked that "Queen Jane is a man." Ranked among Dylan's notable compositions, the track highlights themes of disillusionment and empathy central to , a landmark album in rock history.

Background and recording

Song development

"Queen Jane Approximately" emerged during Bob Dylan's pivotal transition from acoustic folk to electric rock in 1965, a shift that began with the split-format album and culminated in the fully electric . This evolution allowed Dylan to explore more personal and narrative-driven lyrics, moving beyond topical folk songs toward surreal, introspective storytelling that characterized the new album's conception. The song's inspiration drew from Dylan's personal life amid the turbulence of 1965, including strained relationships in his social and romantic circle, with rumors suggesting ties to figures like Joan Baez, though Dylan never confirmed her as the direct subject and instead emphasized ambiguity in the character's identity. In a 1965 interview, Dylan explicitly stated that "Queen Jane is a man," underscoring the deliberate gender ambiguity from the song's inception and rejecting straightforward biographical interpretations. Composed during Dylan's prolific songwriting phase in the spring and early summer of 1965, following the release of Bringing It All Back Home, "Queen Jane Approximately" was one of several tracks crafted in this intense period of creative output. It was positioned as the sixth track on Highway 61 Revisited, following the enigmatic "Ballad of a Thin Man" and preceding the raw energy of the title track "Highway 61 Revisited," serving as a transitional piece between the album's more introspective moments and its aggressive rock anthems.

Recording process

The recording of "Queen Jane Approximately" took place on August 2, 1965, at Studio A in . This session was part of the broader album recordings, which spanned from June 15 to August 4, 1965, but focused on completing several key tracks during the final days. Bob Johnston served as producer, representing his first major collaboration with Dylan on the album following the earlier involvement of on "" under Tom Wilson. The track was captured live by in the studio, with seven takes recorded—selecting Take 7 as the master—which required minimal overdubs to preserve its raw energy. The core musicians included on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; on electric guitar; on organ; Paul Griffin on piano; Harvey Brooks on bass; and on drums. Technical choices emphasized a gritty texture, notably Bloomfield's , while the overall production opted to retain a immediacy amid the studio environment.

Lyrics and themes

Lyrical structure

"Queen Jane Approximately" features five verses structured as ABAB quatrains, with each verse advancing a progression from detached observation of the subject's turmoil to an implicit offer of salvation through the recurring chorus plea. The rhyme scheme adheres to a consistent abaB pattern across stanzas, incorporating internal rhymes to heighten rhythmic flow, as seen in the near-rhymes linking "invitations" and "pains" alongside "explains" in the opening verse. This formal consistency supports the song's narrative arc, which begins with a critique of the protagonist's superficial and isolating social world, escalates through increasingly intimate personal pleas amid chaos and doubt, and culminates in a direct invitation to escape toward renewal. The language employs a direct and conversational tone, marking a shift from Dylan's prior surrealistic style in albums like Bringing It All Back Home, while retaining vivid, evocative imagery such as "the sky, too, is folding under you" to convey emotional collapse. Key poetic devices include the repetition of "Queen Jane approximately" in the chorus, functioning as a refrain-like hook that emphasizes themes of approximation and elusive identity without resolving them.

Interpretations and identity

The song "Queen Jane Approximately" presents a compassionate yet pointed of a figure ensnared in and superficiality, extending an offer of redemption as her world unravels. The narrator observes Queen Jane's isolation amid sycophants and "freaks," urging her to escape the "repetition" of her hollow existence before a personal downfall, such as family resentment or loss of support, leaves her vulnerable. This theme underscores a blend of and , portraying the character as trapped in a facade of that crumbles under . Speculations on Queen Jane's identity have long centered on personal and historical allusions, amplified by Dylan's own enigmatic remark in a 1965 interview that "Queen Jane is a man," introducing gender ambiguity to the figure. Some analyses link the character to , Dylan's folk-era collaborator, whose "Queen of Folk" persona and their strained 1965 relationship mirror the song's depiction of a rejected overture amid superficial entourages. Others propose a reference to , the 16th-century "Nine Days' Queen" executed after a brief, ill-fated reign, symbolizing a fall from precarious power that parallels the lyrics' narrative of impending isolation. Key interpretations position the track as a gentler counterpart to "Like a Rolling Stone," shifting from outright scorn to a more empathetic address of fallen aristocracy in contemporary terms, where Queen Jane embodies an outsider clinging to outdated pretensions. Scholar John Hinchey describes it as one of Dylan's sweeter, though remotely bitter, love songs, rejected by the addressee's denial, while poet Allen Ginsberg praised its blues-inflected invitation to reconciliation as a masterful lyric poem. These readings emphasize the song's role in Dylan's 1965 artistic pivot, critiquing the folk-protest scene's superficiality through a lens of reluctant compassion. In post-2000 , interpretations have evolved to explore performative identity and struggles, updating the context for broader resonance. A 2020 master's thesis frames Queen Jane as a flawed , critiquing her superficial privilege while offering escape, with more compassion than in "" and highlighting her dual power and powerlessness. Contemporary feminist readings, such as those in the same study, view the "queen" as challenging roles—portraying a figure of judged for lacking agency, yet resisting passive victimhood—thus recontextualizing the song's amid ongoing discussions of female in Dylan's oeuvre.

Musical composition

Style and arrangement

"Queen Jane Approximately" is a mid-tempo ballad that incorporates elements, reflecting Bob Dylan's shift toward rock-infused songwriting in the mid-1960s. The track's genre blends folk roots with raw rock energy, drawing from traditions while advancing the electric sound pioneered on his 1965 album . The song unfolds at approximately 107 beats per minute in the key of , establishing a steady, reflective pace that underscores its lyrical introspection. Its arrangement employs a verse-chorus hybrid structure across five verses, eschewing a traditional bridge in favor of progressive tension built through layered dynamics. Harmonically, the composition relies on a straightforward progression centered on C-F-Em-Dm-G chords, which prioritizes the narrative delivery while introducing subtle modulations in subsequent verses to heighten emotional intensity. This simplicity echoes the raw vigor of contemporaries like alongside the melodic accessibility of , marking the song as emblematic of rock's evolution during the era.

Instrumentation and production

The track features Mike Bloomfield's lead , characterized by deliberate out-of-tune bends that impart a raw, dissonant edge to the arrangement. These blues-inflected lines, drawn from Bloomfield's experience with , provide a to Dylan's vocal delivery. Keyboard layers are prominent, with contributing swelling organ parts that evoke a bluesy, improvisational atmosphere, while Paul Griffin adds subtle accents for rhythmic punctuation. Kooper's involvement stemmed from his impromptu entry into Dylan's sessions, as detailed in his memoirs, where he recounts the recordings as highly spontaneous affairs that contrasted with the more structured production of tracks like "Like a Rolling Stone." The bass line, played by Harvey Brooks, employs a walking pattern that grounds the mid-tempo groove, complemented by Bobby Gregg's steady drum beat, which maintains propulsion without overpowering the intimate feel. Production was overseen by Bob Johnston, who adopted a documentary-style approach emphasizing live-room recording to preserve natural energy over technical perfection, resulting in a loose mix that heightens the song's lyrical immediacy. This method captured the ensemble's interplay in real time at Columbia's Studio A in New York, prioritizing spontaneous performances during the August 2, 1965, session.

Release and reception

Commercial performance

"Queen Jane Approximately" was released on August 30, 1965, as the fifth track on Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited, which debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart and peaked at number 3. The album has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales exceeding 1,000,000 units in the United States. The song appeared as the B-side to the single "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" on February 14, 1966. While the A-side reached number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, "Queen Jane Approximately" did not chart independently in the US or UK. As an album track, "Queen Jane Approximately" contributed to 's commercial success, with the album achieving over 5 million pure sales worldwide, bolstered by its critical acclaim. It received moderate on AM and emerging FM radio stations in 1965–1966, primarily as part of album-oriented programming, and later became a staple on FM formats. In the digital era, the song has garnered over 14 million streams on as of November 2025, underscoring its enduring popularity.

Critical analysis

Upon its release as the B-side to "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" in February 1966, Cash Box praised "Queen Jane Approximately" as a "medium-paced, twangy heart-breaker" that showcased Dylan's evolving folk-rock style. Contemporary critics often highlighted the song's emotional directness within the broader context of , noting how its blend of bluesy instrumentation and introspective marked a shift from Dylan's earlier anthems to more personal narratives. In retrospective assessments, the song has been ranked #68 on Mojo magazine's 2005 list of the 100 greatest songs, commended for its graceful blend of venom and melody amid the album's surreal intensity. A Consequence of feature on the album's enduring impact discussed Highway 61 Revisited as exemplifying Dylan's electric-era pivot. Scholarly analyses have underscored the song's nuanced place in Dylan's catalog. Similarly, a 2021 issue of The Dylan Review discusses Emma Swift's cover of the song, describing it as a gentle, Americana-style rendition that amplifies its emotional resonance. Common critiques reveal divided opinions on the song's merits. Reviewer Adrian Denning, in a 2020 assessment, lauds it as quintessential mid-1960s Dylan, a "softer cousin" to "" with its organ-driven charm and superstar-era polish. Conversely, Mark Prindle's analysis views it as part of the album's "soft centre" of filler, calling it "so bloody dull" despite a nice melody and strong vocals, though the lyrics provide clever excuses for its mid-tempo plodding. In 2020s reviews, particularly following Dylan's 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, the song has been reevaluated for its timeless appeal within his Nobel-affirmed legacy of literary songcraft. Record Collector's 2023 coverage of Dylan's Shadow Kingdom praises a slowed rendition as "unbearably poignant," burdened by decades yet revealing enduring emotional depth that underscores Dylan's innovative fusion of blues and poetry. This perspective aligns with broader post-Nobel discourse, where the track exemplifies Dylan's ability to craft universally resonant heartbreak amid cultural upheaval.

Performances and covers

Live performances

Bob Dylan first performed "Queen Jane Approximately" live on July 4, 1987, at Sullivan Stadium in , during his collaborative tour with the , where the song received an electric arrangement infused with the band's jam-oriented style. According to setlist data, Dylan performed the song a total of 69 times between 1987 and 2013, primarily as part of his ongoing . Throughout the Never Ending Tour, the song appeared in various arrangements, including electric versions with the full band that positioned it often in the mid-set for dynamic pacing, and acoustic renditions during the , such as the unplugged at New York's in , which emphasized its lyrical intimacy. Adaptations frequently featured slower tempos to heighten emotional depth, as heard in select tour recordings where Dylan's delivery adopted a more reflective pace. In stage sets, "Queen Jane Approximately" was commonly paired with "," creating a thematic sequence of relational , a pattern evident in multiple tour dates including the 1993 shows and later configurations. The song's final documented tour performance occurred on November 6, 2013, at Tokyo's Budokan Hall. It reemerged in a stylized live setting for the 2021 filmed concert , directed by , where Dylan delivered an acoustic-inflected version with a subdued, intimate tempo, marking its only known post-2013 rendition as of 2025. No additional live performances or new archival releases featuring the song have surfaced since the presentation.

Cover versions

The Four Seasons recorded one of the earliest covers of "Queen Jane Approximately," releasing it as a single in 1966 that incorporated their characteristic harmonies and a brighter pop sensibility, transforming Dylan's mid-tempo rock into a more upbeat, vocal-driven arrangement. In 1968, the Seattle-based band the Daily Flash included a version on their debut album I Looked Around, emphasizing swirling guitar effects and a trippy, extended instrumental breakdown that aligned with the era's experimental folk-rock trends. The collaborated with on a live rendition during their 1987 tour, captured on the 1989 album , where the band stretched the song into an eight-minute jam featuring layered improvisation, psychedelic guitar solos by , and a communal, groove-oriented feel that amplified its themes of guidance and escape. More recently, Australian singer-songwriter offered a subdued Americana take on her 2020 tribute album Blonde on the Tracks, with lilting vocals, acoustic strumming, and subtle Beatles-esque guitar from guest , reinterpreting the lyrics' offer of solace through a gentle, introspective lens; this version ranked #18 on the Dylan Review's 2021 list of the 80 best Dylan covers. Beyond these, "Queen Jane Approximately" has inspired over 30 recorded versions by other artists, per the SecondHandSongs database, including scattered indie and folk revival efforts in the that underscore the song's versatile melody and its core motifs of amid personal turmoil, though none have produced significant chart hits.

References

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  3. https://www.allmusic.com/song/one-of-us-must-know-sooner-or-later-mt0047544931
  4. https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/queen-jane-approximately/
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  6. https://www.interferenza.net/bcs/interw/65-aug.htm
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  8. https://www.discogs.com/master/3986-Bob-Dylan-Highway-61-Revisited
  9. https://www.bobdylan.com/thecuttingedge_completetracklisting/
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