Like a Rolling Stone
July 20, 1965
Like a Rolling Stone is the title of a song that was written in June 1965 by the then 24 -year-old Bob Dylan and included on the album Highway 61 Revisited. The song is one of the most influential rock songs so far. So the title was chosen by Rolling Stone Magazine for best song of all time in 2004. The song refers to the English proverb "A rolling stone gathers no moss" ( German: "A rolling stone gathers no moss ").
Genesis
In May 1965, the young Bob Dylan began during his UK tour to write the song in the form of a poem. When he in his native Woodstock ( New York) had arrived, he brought the four verses and the chorus then disillusioned in song form. Later the artist confessed that he had used the chord progression of Ritchie Valens ' La Bamba as a cornerstone.
It was recorded the song by Bob Dylan in the former New York headquarters of the Columbia Records ( 799 Seventh Avenue ) on 15 and 16 June 1965 in the occupation of Al Kooper (organ), Russ Savakus ( bass), Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Bobby Gregg (drums ) and Paul Griffin ( piano ). The music producer was Tom Wilson.
There were big problems with the release of the song, because although Dylan's manager was immediately clear that this song would be a hit, was the marketing department of Columbia Records to publish. This was mainly due to the unusually long for a single six-minute playing time of Like a Rolling Stone. Dylan should shorten the piece, but this he refused. On 15 July 1965, the song was then released but rose within a week on the Billboard charts, reaching rank two and stayed in the charts three months. The song has sold over a million copies worldwide.
The Rolling Stone Magazine chose Like A Rolling Stone in 2004 for best song of all time, before (I Can not Get No ) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones and Imagine by John Lennon.
Meaning of the text
The song tells the story of a female protagonist who ends up coming from a wealthy family well on the road. The text is told from the perspective of a not involved person. The text and the last sentence of the chorus is very often misinterpreted in German as " like a rolling stone ", where the term "Rolling Stone" - dating back to the English proverb "A rolling stone gathers no moss" - in the original text on a tramp alludes to what can be derived from the context of the text and song. Dylan is in the chorus of the protagonist rather sarcastic questions:
How does it feel? To be on your own To be without a home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone?
The text refers to the fact that the apparently spoiled girl had not a very good picture of the homeless and vagabonds, now however finds himself on the street. The chorus is then addressed the question of how it felt to being alone, homeless, unknown, just like those tramps who were laughed at her.
The protagonist in the song was not named. It is believed that the actress Edie Sedgwick is sung in this song, which is found from this period in other Dylan songs. Joan Baez has also been named as a possible subject.
The colloquial term for rolling stone prowler was not new to the blues and pop music. Already Muddy Waters used it in his compositions Rolling Stone (June 1950), named after the Rolling Stones. Otis Blackwell also used it in his own composition, Daddy Rolling Stone ( October 1953 ).
Cover versions
There are besides various recordings of Bob Dylan's numerous cover versions of songs, including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley and Green Day. A devoted Dylan fan Wolfgang Niedecken recorded the song in 1982 with his band BAP with a new, German text ( How 'ne Stein) on. Wolfgang Ambros brought in 1978 with Bob Dylan's songs out a complete album ( as in sleep). The very text -related translations, many fans were attentive in German-speaking only on the lyrical quality of Dylan lyrics.