Rock
60
Gloss by Naomi Golshan
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 fall₁
You thought they were all kidding you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hanging out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging your next meal
[Chorus]How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone₂
Ahh you've gone to the finest schools, alright Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it₃
Nobody's ever taught you 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?₄
[Chorus}
Ah you never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns when they all 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 a chrome horse with your diplomat₅
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat₆
Ain't it hard when you discovered that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal
[Chorus]
Ahh princess on a steeple and all the pretty people
They're all drinking, thinking that they've got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags₇ and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you've got no secrets to conceal
[Chorus]
1)“Beware doll, you’re bound to fall” is one example where we see that Dylan originally wrote this piece as a stream of consciousness exercise. The simple rhymes present here prove that Dylan did not originally intend for this to become a song but was simply pouring out his feelings onto paper in the simplest way he could.
2)“A rolling stone gathers no moss” is an old proverb, credited to Publilius Syrus, who was known to have stated that “People who are always moving with no roots in one place, avoid responsibilities and cares,” understood to be referring to those who avoid taking on responsibilities. The flip side to this thought is understood when one equates “moss” with “monotony,” meaning those that keep moving are constantly creating new experiences and thoughts that are fodder for creativity.
3)Slang for “getting high” off of drugs .
4)Popularly understood to be referencing a drug deal.
5)Prestigious and important figures, or diplomats, are sometimes commemorated and celebrated by having their likeness posing on chrome horses built in their honor.
6)Siamese cats, native to the Asian continent, were becoming increasingly popular among the wealthy in the 1950-1960’s.
7)Napoleon Bonaparte, the wealthy French military and political leader that had once seized control of France and much of Europe, is now dressed in mere rags, perhaps alluding to his exile to Elba in 1814. His “language” is the means in which he gained his fame, i.e. battling and conquering lands across the continents.
Like a Rolling Stone
Written by Bob Dylan
Year: 1965