The initial impulse behind McMahon’s new project Jack’s Mannequin was "Locked Doors", a song he recorded in December 2003, which he felt was too different from previous Something Corporate material to be one of their songs. He realized that, if he would ever decide to release it, it would be on a solo album rather than a Something Corporate record. The idea seemed to be off the table, until in late summer 2004 both McMahon and his band mates were exhausted from months of touring. They decided to take a temporary break. During his time off, McMahon started writing songs, knowing they would not see the light of day as Something Corporate songs. These songs were a more therapeutic approach McMahon took, and therefore a more personal and intimate testament of his songwriting.
Over the next couple of months, McMahon began recording the newly written songs with producer Jim Wirt, who would play guitar and bass over sampled drum tracks, while McMahon contributed vocals and piano. They later brought in additional musicians such as Bobby Anderson (formerly of River City High) and Tommy Lee to add to the mix. In March 2005, Jack’s Mannequin (now consisting of McMahon, Jon Sullivan on bass, Anderson and Jacques Brautbar on guitar and Jay McMillan on drums) played their first live show at Molly Malone’s Irish pub in Los Angeles, California.
Their debut album, Everything in Transit, was released on August 23, 2005 debuting at #37 of the Billboard 200 with over 22,000 copies scanned within its first week.
Everything in Transit received a positive response from fans and critics alike. A summer tour was scheduled to support the record release, but was canceled after McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and had a bone marrow transplant. The band began recording their second album in the summer of 2007. In August 2007, McMahon posted the lyrics to the song “Cellular Phone” on his blog,which the band played live at several shows in 2007 and 2008. Also, in February 2008, videos of live performances of two songs off the new record (“Caves” and “Suicide Blonde”) were uploaded onto YouTube for public viewing. McMahon appears on the cover of Alternative Press’s January 2008 issue, which contains an interview with him.
Their second album, The Glass Passenger, was released on September 30th, 2008, and is their first album with Sire Records. Despite numerous delays (the album was originally slated for release in April 2008) it has been well-received, and debuted #8 on the Billboard 200.
Previously, in August of 2008, The Ghost Overground EP was released exclusively on iTunes to promote the album, containing the songs "The Resolution", "Bloodshot", and two live performances of tracks from Everything in Transit. After the release of the EP, "The Resolution" topped the Billboard "Hot Singles Sales" charts.
Songfacts reports that "My Racing Thoughts," the first single from their third album People and Things, was released on August 2, 2011. People and Things was released October 4, 2011.
On the evening of the 24th August 2012, the official Jack's Mannequin website & official Twitter account were changed to www.andrewmcmahon.com & "amslingshots" respectively. A blog post on the official Andrew McMahon website confirmed that Jack's Mannequin were no longer & that Andrew would be working on solo material.
Mr. Tambourine Man
Jack's Mannequin Lyrics
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I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Vanished from my hand,
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise to go under it.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
Seein' that he's chasing.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
The song "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Jack's Mannequin is a cover of the classic song written by Bob Dylan. The lyrics describe the singer's desire to escape reality and to follow the tambourine man, who symbolizes a source of creative inspiration and a pathway to freedom. The singer is awake and restless, wandering the empty streets with no destination in mind. He longs for the tambourine man to play a song that will transport him to another dimension, where his senses are heightened and his mind is free. The singer is willing to follow the tambourine man anywhere, whether it's to a magical ship or to the foggy ruins of time. All he wants is to forget about today and embrace the unknown future.
The imagery in the song is rich with metaphors and symbols. The tambourine man represents the muse or the artist who can lead the singer to a place of transcendence. The jingle jangle morning represents a new day full of possibilities, where the tambourine man's music can guide the singer to a better life. The frozen leaves and haunted trees represent the burdens of the present, while the diamond sky and circus sands represent the freedom of the future. The song is a call to embrace the unknown and to follow the whims of the heart, even if it means leaving behind the comfort of familiarity.
Overall, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is a powerful anthem to the creative spirit and to the human desire to escape reality. It is a song that speaks to anyone who has ever felt trapped or bored with their life, and who longs for something more.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
The singer is requesting a song from Mr. Tambourine Man and the request is made very emphatically.
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
The singer is neither sleepy nor has any place to be and thus is eagerly waiting for Mr. Tambourine Man to play a song for them.
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
The singer is offering to follow Mr. Tambourine Man after the song has been played, possibly to gain some sort of guidance or inspiration from him.
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Even though the artist is aware that the evening has ended and time has swiftly passed, it still feels like a distant memory.
Vanished from my hand,
The events that have occurred during the evening have slipped from the artist's memory, just like sand slipping from between fingers.
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
The singer feels lost and helpless, but still cannot sleep due to their weariness.
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet,
The singer is surprised by their own exhaustion, as well as feeling weighed down physically and emotionally.
I have no one to meet
The artist has nowhere to go and no one to meet, they feel disconnected and alone.
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
The artist is standing on a desolate, ancient street that is so empty and lifeless that it's impossible to dream or imagine anything happening there.
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
The artist is asking Mr. Tambourine Man to take them on a magical journey that would take them away from their current melancholic state.
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
The singer is so emotionally numb that they have lost their sense of touch and can't feel anything.
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin'.
The artist feels lost and aimless, their feet feeling so numb they can no longer move without Mr. Tambourine Man's guidance.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade into my own parade,
The singer is desperate to escape from their current state, even if it means creating their own fantasy world and disappearing into it.
Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it.
The singer is ready to fall under Mr. Tambourine Man's spell and be taken on an enchanting journey.
Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
The singer is warning Mr. Tambourine Man that they may hear insane laughter and see wild things across the sun while under his spell.
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
The laughter and wild sights are not meant to harm anyone, but are instead a way to escape reality and find freedom.
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
There are no boundaries or limitations, except for the sky, when you are lost in a dream-like state.
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
The singer advises Mr. Tambourine Man that they may hear fragments of random, nonsensical poetry and it is nothing to be concerned about.
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
The source of the vague rhyming sounds is just an unimportant, ragged clown who is following them with a tambourine.
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're seein' that he's chasing.
The artist urges Mr. Tambourine Man not to give the clown too much attention as he is just chasing shadows and will move on soon enough.
Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
The artist wants Mr. Tambourine Man to help them disappear through the smoke rings of their mind, to escape their current reality once again.
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The artist wants to go even further back in their mind, to distant memories and places from their past.
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
The singer wants to visit a desolate, haunting place, like a windy beach with frightened trees.
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
The artist wants to escape their current state of agony and sorrow and be taken somewhere far away from it all.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
The singer wants to dance under the beautiful, starry night sky with no worries or cares, and one hand waving freely in the air.
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
The singer wants to dance on a beach, surrounded by the vast ocean and soft sands, and surrounded by a circus-like atmosphere.
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.
The singer wants to forget about everything that has happened and all their worries, and sink all their memories and fate deep beneath the waves of the ocean, to be forgotten until tomorrow.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind