• Track: Like a Rolling Stone
• Artist: The Rolling Stones
• Album: Stripped
• Year: 1995

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?
People call, say “Beware doll, you’re bound to fall”
You thought they were all a’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 your next meal

Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging your next meal

[Chorus 1]
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be without a home?
Like a complete unknown?
Like a rolling stone?

[Verse 2]
Aw, you’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But ya’ know ya’ only used to get juiced in it
Nobody’s ever taught ya’ how to live out on the street
And now you’re gonna have to get used to it
You say you 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 say, “Do you want to make a deal?”

[Chorus 2]
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
A complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

[Verse 3]
Aw, you never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for 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 a 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?

[Chorus 3]
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To hang on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

[Verse 4]
Aw, princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re all drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchangin’ all precious gifts
But you’d better take your diamond ring, ya’ 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 ya’, ya’ can’t refuse
When ya’ ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose
You’re invisible now, ya’ got no secrets to conceal

[Chorus 2]
How does it feel?
Aw, how does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Something magical happens when The Rolling Stones sing about being like a rolling stone, you know? The only thing better would be if The Rolling Stones were pictured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine while singing about being like a rolling stone. Even better would be if the Rolling Stones were pictured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine while singing about being like a rolling stone and, wait for it, rolling stones—you know, across the floor and stuff. Maybe The Rolling Stones could be pictured (on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine) on a hill with stones rolling down around them while singing about being like a rolling stone while rolling stones.

I know…

Here at the Dances with Bass laboratories, the Stones are royalty; in fact, if we had to choose one band to represent the whole of the human race, it would be The Rolling Stones. Mick, Keith, et al. have been making music together since 1962. Think about that. The Stones have been making music since Dances with Bass presidential hero John F. Kennedy was president and Marvel superhero Spider-Man made his first appearance.

And they’re still kicking ass, releasing new music, and performing on stage. They look as though they were just pulled from a bag of jerky, but they’re still on stage and appeasing the rock and roll gods.

Today’s track is cover of Bob Dylan’s timeless Like a Rolling Stone, which is young by way of comparison to the Stones. Uncle Bob released Like a Rolling Stone on his classic Highway 61 Revisited album from 1965. This song was ranked number 1 by, wait for it, Rolling Stone magazine, as the best rock and roll song of all-time. Contrary to folk de rigueur if the early 1960s, Like a Rolling Stone tells the story of a wealthy woman—Miss Lonely—who has fallen on hard times after having previously lived like a queen. Because she’s lived a pampered life, she is not prepared to live life as a rolling stone. The song’s sneering lyrics chide her for having tossed the bums a dime while she was dressed so fine; now that she’s fallen from grace, she doesn’t talk so loud or seem so proud while she’s scrounging for her next meal.

Pardon us for waxing political, but the editors here at DWB would like to point out that things haven’t changed much since Uncle Bob penned this biting song, and that perhaps some comeuppance is due for the world’s elite who look down upon the poor. And Uncle Mick is here, channeling his best inner Uncle Bob, to do just that.

The Rolling Stones performed their version of Like a Rolling Stone in 1995 at the Brixton Academy in London. Originally, Stripped was released as a single CD and included studio performances from Tokyo and Lisbon, Portugal, and live performances from small venues in Amsterdam, Paris, and London. In 2016, the Stones released Totally Stripped, which is a CD/DVD combo that includes an expanded set list from the 1995 shows.

Video:

This is the official video made for The Rolling Stones’ performance of Like a Rolling Stone:

Another favorite track from the Stripped live performance is Dead Roses, which was taken from 1971’s Sticky Fingers.

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t include Uncle Bob’s original version.

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