Like a rolling stone

Another damp morning on the cycle path.

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.

Like a Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan

I'm using an app called RunKeeper on my iPhone to track my cycling this year - it's how I know how well I'm doing on the 4000 mile thing. As a side-effect of using the app, I'm listening to much more music than I usually do. If nothing else, the music helps pass time in the saddle! Many of the tracks I list in this blog are ones from my current play-lists.

It's hard to know what to say about this track, given that it is such a classic. To quote from the Wikipedia page (which is well worth reading by the way):

The track has been described as revolutionary in its combination of different musical elements, the youthful, cynical sound of Dylan's voice, and the directness of the question in the chorus: "How does it feel?". "Like a Rolling Stone" transformed Dylan's career and is today considered one of the most influential compositions in post-war popular music and has since its release been both a music industry and popular culture milestone which elevated Dylan's image to iconic. The song has been covered by numerous artists, including Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and Bob Marley & The Wailers.

I first heard Dylan when I was, oh I don't know, 10 or so I guess. I don't think it is possible to really put into words the impact that Dylan has had on me. Sounds a bit weird to say that... but I think it is probably true. My formative years were heavily wrapped up in listening to a lot of his music - not only Dylan of course, but he featured very heavily. I can still remember revising for O levels listening to badly recorded cassettes of Dylan albums over and over again for example. Looking back, I can't help but think that Dylan has heavily influenced my attitudes to politics, racism, relationships and pretty much everything else.

This particular song, though I wouldn't rate it as my all-time favorite Dylan song (that probably goes to Positively 4th Street), is certainly up there as one of my favorites.

Two other quotes from the Wikipedia page:

On May 17, 1966, during the last leg of the tour, Dylan and his band performed at Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. Just before they started to play the track, an audience member yelled "Judas!", apparently referring to Dylan's supposed "betrayal" of folk music. Dylan responded, "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" With that, he turned to the band, ordering them to "play it fucking loud".

and:

Mike Marqusee has written at length on the conflicts in Dylan's life during this time, with its deepening alienation from his old folk-revival audience and clear-cut leftist causes. He suggests that the song is probably self-referential. "The song only attains full poignancy when one realises it is sung, at least in part, to the singer himself: he's the one 'with no direction home.'" Dylan himself has noted that after his motorcycle accident in 1966 he realized that "when I used words like 'he' and 'it' and 'they,' and talking about other people, I was really talking about nobody but me."

No direction home... I suspect we can all identify with that.