Like a Rolling Stone

An iconic Bob Dylan song, "Like A Rolling Stone" is the story of a debutante who becomes a loner when she falls out of high society. It's a crushing blow, but there is an upside: when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. Another advantage to being on your own: when you're invisible, you have no secrets to reveal.

The title is not a reference to The Rolling Stones. It is taken from the proverb "a rolling stone gathers no moss." Dylan got the idea from the 1949 Hank Williams song "Lost Highway," which contains the line, "I'm a rolling stone, all alone and lost." Thanks to The Rolling Stones, many associate the phrase with a life of glamor, always on the move, but Williams' song is about a hobo paying the price for his life of sin. Dylan also used the phrase to indicate loneliness and despair: his rolling stone is "without a home, like a complete unknown."

"Like A Rolling Stone" is Dylan's most popular song and his first big hit, although having a hit song was low on his list of priorities. It was the only single from his sixth album, Highway 61 Revisited, released in 1965 when he was buzzworthy - especially in the New York City music scene - but hardly a sensation. The song got significant airplay and many connected with it, sending them on an enlightening journey through his back catalog. Dylan became one of the most respected and analyzed songwriters of his time, with "Like A Rolling Stone" often the gateway.