"Queen Jane Approximately" is a song from

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's 1965 album ''

Highway 61 Revisited ''Highway 61 Revisited'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Having until then recorded mostly acoustic music, Dylan used rock musicians as his backing band on ever ...

''. It was released as a single as the B-side to "

One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. It is the fourth track on his 1966 album '' Blonde on Blonde'', and was released as the album's first single that February. The song is an emotional confession of ...

" in January 1966. It has also been covered by several artists, including

the Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and The Four Seasons.

Meaning

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. Although the song covers similar ground to "

Like a Rolling Stone "Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965, by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted fro ...

", "Queen Jane Approximately" is gentler and shows the subject some compassion. The main point of criticism is that the subject lives in an inauthentic world filled with superficial attitudes and people and meaningless, ritualized proprieties. 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. 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. 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?" The song incorporates several attitudes towards the subject, including condescension, self-righteousness, contempt, compassion as well as sneering. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described Dylan's version as a "medium-paced, twangy heart-breaker." ''Cash Box'' described a cover version by

the Daily Flash The Daily Flash are an American folk rock and psychedelic bandMike Stax, liner notes, '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' (1998 CD), p. 63. founded in 1965, active until 1968 and reformed in 2002.Nick War ...

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."

Identity of Queen Jane

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 Tudor queens

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

and

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

. Even more speculation has centered on

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

, 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 Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

, and the souring of the relationship between Dylan and Baez around the time the song was written. However, in 1965 Dylan himself told journalist

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award f ...

that "Queen Jane is a man".

Style

The song is structured as a series of ABAB

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

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". 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". The music is recorded with a "warts and all" philosophy consistent with the rest of the ''Highway 61 Revisited'' album. 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 Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

. Musicians on "Queen Jane Approximately" include Dylan,

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

on electric guitars and

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

and Paul Griffin on keyboards.

Live performances

Despite being originally recorded in 1965, Dylan did not perform the song live until July 4, 1987, during a concert with

. A performance of the song from July 19, 1987, was officially released on the live album ''

Dylan & The Dead ''Dylan & the Dead'' is a collaborative live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, released on February 6, 1989, by Columbia Records. The album consists of seven songs written and sung by Dylan, with the Grateful Dead ...

''. As of 2019, Dylan has performed the song 76 times, most recently on November 6, 2013, in Rome, Italy. In a 2005 poll of artists reported in ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'', "Queen Jane Approximately" was listed as the number 70 all-time best Bob Dylan song.

Other versions

"Queen Jane Approximately" has been covered numerous times, including by

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and The Four Seasons. The song was also covered by Emma Swift for her 2020 Dylan tribute album '' Blonde on the Tracks''.

References

External links

Lyrics
{{Authority control 1965 songs Bob Dylan songs Grateful Dead songs Songs written by Bob Dylan 1966 singles Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston