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Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone "Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by Bob Dylan from his album Highway 61 Revisited. First issued in 1965, it represents in its length (6:09), style, and scoring, one o... [more] Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone "Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by Bob Dylan from his album Highway 61 Revisited. First issued in 1965, it represents in its length (6:09), style, and scoring, one of the most influential of Dylan's songs. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the greatest song of all time, declaring, "No other pop song has so thoroughly challenged and transformed the commercial laws and artistic conventions of its time". In his 1988 speech inducting Dylan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen remembered, "The first time I heard Bob Dylan, I was in the car with my mother listening to WMCA, and on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody had kicked open the door to your mind". Recording The song was originally written in waltz time and later changed to 4/4. Dylan first recorded it on June 15-16, 1965, in a pair of sessions produced by Tom Wilson; the musicians included Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Paul Griffin, Josef Mack and Bobby Gregg on drums. Paul Griffin, who had been hired to play organ, was moved to piano. Kooper, primarily a guitarist, inveigled himself behind the Hammond organ. Producer Wilson was dubious about Kooper's abilities with the instrument but acquiesced. Release "Like a Rolling Stone" was released as a 45 rpm single on July 20, 1965. Despite its length -- twice the maximum preferred by radio at the time -- it became Dylan's biggest hit to that date, remaining in the U.S. charts for nearly three months and rising to #2 behind The Beatles' song "Help!". Legacy: Speculation about the song's unnamed subject has run continuously since its 1965 release; one common school of thought centers on Edie Sedgwick, an actress/model known for her association with Andy Warhol. Sedgwick is also often identified as a figure in other Dylan songs of the time, particularly "Just Like a Woman" from his album Blonde on Blonde. However, Dylan is generally believed only to have begun to associate with Sedgwick in the fall of 1965, after "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded, though a Sedgwick biography places their first meeting in Christmas 1964 at the Kettle of Fish in Greenwich Village via a supposed introduction by Bob Neuwirth. Joan Baez has also been considered a possible target of Dylan's words. Rolling Stone magazine's ranking In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine declared "Like a Rolling Stone" the greatest song of all time, based on its poll of 172 music industry figures. Lyrics: Once upon a time you dressed so fine You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you? People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall" You thought they were all kiddin' you You used to laugh about Everybody that was hangin' out Now you don't talk so loud Now you don't seem so proud About having to be scrounging for your next meal. How does it feel How does it feel To be without a home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone? You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely But you know you only used to get juiced in it And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it You said you'd never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And ask him do you want to make a deal? How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone? You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns When they all come down and did tricks for you You never understood that it ain't no good You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat Ain't it hard when you discover that He really wasn't where it's at After he took from you everything he could steal. How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone? Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal. How does it feel How does it feel To be on your own With no direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone? [less]