II and as two separate live versions recorded at concerts in 1966: the first of which appeared on the B-side of Dylan's "I Want You" single, with the second being released on The Bootleg Series Vol.

The song has been covered by many artists, including Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Power, Nina Simone, Barry McGuire, Judy Collins, Frankie Miller, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, The Black Crowes, Townes Van Zandt, Bryan Ferry, and The Handsome Family.

The song's lyrics describe a vision of the narrator's experiences in Juarez, Mexico, where he encounters poverty, sickness, despair, available women, indifferent authorities, alcohol and drugs before finally deciding to return to New York City.

[3][4][5] However, "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" took more attempts to perfect than the other songs recorded that day; it wasn't until take 16 that Dylan and his band captured on tape the version that was released on the album.

[4] According to Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin, on early takes of the song Sam Lay was the drummer and Frank Owens played piano.

[4] In Heylin's opinion, Gregg's jazzier drumming and Griffin's more fluid piano playing better communicated the feeling of dislocation that Dylan desired for the song.

[9] The song establishes an occasionally nightmarish vision as the singer is influenced by gravity, negativity, sex, drugs, drink, illness, remorse and memory.

"[13] Like many of the songs on Highway 61 Revisited, "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" has abundant literary references, including images recalling Malcolm Lowry's novel Under the Volcano and a street name taken from Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".

"[4] A live version recorded at a concert in Liverpool, England, on May 14, 1966, featuring Dylan backed by the Band, was released as the B-side to the "I Want You" single in 1966, and later also appeared on the Masterpieces compilation.

[9] In a 2005 readers' poll published in Mojo magazine, "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" was listed as the number 13 all-time greatest Bob Dylan song.

[22] Music journalist Toby Creswell included "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" on his list of the 1001 greatest songs of all time, and music critic Dave Marsh ranked the live version from Liverpool as the 243rd-greatest single of all time and as one of the dozen or so truly great B-sides, noting that it demonstrated Dylan's prowess as a great live performer.

[15][24][25] Billboard said of this version that "one of best but lesser known Dylan tunes serves as a blockbuster debut on United Artists for the Canadian performer-composer" and praised the vocal performance and the production.

[15][28] The Grateful Dead have, on occasion, performed "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" live in concert, with bassist Phil Lesh taking a rare turn as lead vocalist, and a recording of the song by the band appears on the album View from the Vault, Volume One.