Like a Rolling Stone

Disagree entirely, with most of this. Have studied the song greatly, so may be able to offer some fact based insight.

The song is about socialite, Edie Palmer. A one time girlfriend of Bob Dylan, who cheated on him, with a number of people, while he was an up and coming musician, and eventually left him for the artist Andy Warhol. Their lives went different ways, with Dylan moving on to fame and fortune, and Palmer becoming destitute, and dying a homeless drug addict. Sadly, the song is black humour on Dylans part, mocking the girl after she was dumped by Warhol, and quickly lost the brief fame she had as his girlfriend.

Most of the song hints at a rich, fame hungry girl, who was maybe destined for a fall. But there are many hints to what happened to her, after falling on hard times:

“You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns. When they all come down and did tricks for you”

This refers to the many suitors that Palmer had. Many men, trying to impress and court her, and how much she loved it. Dylan refers to them as “jugglers and clowns”, as in, men trying to entertain her, trying to catch her attention. Dylan thought of them quite literally as desperate clowns. He comments that she had little care for their feelings, and probably refers to himself as one of these “clowns”, as he was well known to have pursued Palmer vigorously, as a younger man.

“You said you'd 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 ask him do you want to make a deal?”

This refers to the fact that Palmer resorted to prostitution, not literally, but in Dylans eyes. It was well known that Palmer slept about a lot, mostly for gifts, and fame – generally sleeping with anyone she though of as “hip” – Dylan being one of them. He’s commenting that she used to make fun of “working class people”, and considered herself a better class, but at the same time was (in Dylan’s opinion) prostituting herself to the same people, for fame.

“You used to ride on the 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.”

“The diplomat” was one of many names Dylan referred to the artist Andy Warhol. Dylan and Warhol were known enemies of the New York art scene. Dylan, the legitimate artist, and star, whereas Warhol was more “shock” value person, who attained fame by courting the media, and trying to shock. Dylan disliked Warhol, and his “factory” immensely, and felt of them as untalented wannabes. He called him “the diplomat”, as although he had an exterior image as a wild artist, he was in his early 40s, and very wealthy, so Dylan felt it was all an act, and he was in fact a very establish piece of New York society. “Chrome Horse” he is obviously referring to a car. The Siamese cat line is referring to Warhol’s almost comedic artistic decadence. The imagery of a man walking around town with a Siamese cat (very rare at the time) on his shoulder, was Dylan explaining how ridiculous he felt Warhol was, and how much attention he craved. “He really wasn't where it's at, after he took from you everything he could steal”. Warhol’s 60s fame was seen as a “fad” at the time, and Dylan was basically saying “you backed the wrong horse”, as in the late 60s, Dylan really was the biggest artist/star in the world, rivalling the Beatles, and Warhol had slipped into obscurity.

“You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse. When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.”

Someone touched on this earlier, claiming “Napoleon in rags” was referring to himself, Bob Dylan. Nice, but sadly wrong. “Napoleon in rags” was another Dylan (mocking) nickname of the artist Andy Warhol. As stated earlier, Warhol painted himself as a beatnik/struggling artist, yet, he was immensely wealthy, middle class, and powerful, in the new york scene. He was also at least 20 years older than Dylan at the time. “Napoleon in rags” was basically Dylan mocking the image Warhol tried to convey of himself, stating that he was actually, underneath all the rags, and imagery, a little, ageing powerful man, who dictated himself to people. As a parting shot “Go to him now”, Dylan is telling Palmer to go to the man she left him for, and states that they are both “invisible”, as in, not famous, whereas, he was world start. Basically stating what a mistake she actually made.

In conclusion, the crux of the song is the fact that Eadie Palmer, left Dylan, as a struggling musician, in the new york scene, to date the 40 year old artist, Andy Warhol, for what Dylan felt were money related issues. He was very rich and famous in the early 60s after all. Dylan, rather darkly, is mocking them both, and basically stating that “you left me for money, but now look at you – your nothing, and I’m huge”.

My first thought while listening to the song, was: Isn't Dylan describing every person in this world, when we are completely stripped? All of us are rolling stones, a thing we will never get away from - no matter how rich, intellectual and commercial (etc) we become. I think that is ONE of all the meanings this song has.

This is the moment of self relization, when everything you've spent most of your life putting up to hide the sad truth from your eyes comes crashing down and you are left with nothing but reality.

This song is about a rich girl getting strung out on heroin or other opiates.

As with any Dylan song, he dresses it up quite obliquely and is addressing things on multiple levels here, but the heroin references are everywhere ...

Now, getting 'juiced' just refers to getting drunk, but that was back in school ... so that's how the addiction cycle started. Then it graduated to opiates, which people told her to 'beware' of or she'd be sucked in, but she didn't believe them.

The terms 'kicks' and 'hanging out' are both junkie terms for dope withdrawals. The general term 'kicking drugs' is derived from the phenomenon of 'the kicks', which are uncontrollable leg spasms that occur in opiate withdrawals. Early-on, she apparently thought addiction couldn't happen to her ... to the point where she laughed at people who were dope-sick (i.e. 'hanging out').

At the beginning of the song, the 'living on the streets' refers to how you have to go to bad neighborhoods chasing down the dope man ... and as an addict, you have to 'get used to it'. By the end of the song, she probably literally was living on the streets.

The 'mystery tramp' is the drug dealer(s), pure and simple. And I've got my suspicions that Napoleon is the drug habit itself ... it starts out 'amusing', but then eventually it becomes an addiction ... which in turn just calls you, and indeed, you can't refuse.

Due to her addiction, she ends up in life of misery and despair, pawning her possessions for drug money, and basically 'invisible' to the world, possibly homeless ... if not literally, then figuratively at least ... as addicts tend to drive everyone away from themselves.

my take on it.. i just think it's about how children of the 60s (and still today) were so eager to get away from their parents and into the 'real world' but were greeted with a smack of reality in the face

This is most likely about deceased heiress/debutant/Warhol Superstar Edie Sedgwick. The lines "You used to ride on the 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." refer to Andy Warhol rather pointedly. I've heard that the Dylan songs Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat and Just Like a Woman were also Edie-inspired, but I doubt it.

when i hear this song it makes me think of one of those signs next to Mt.'s on the highway. The signs that are like "watch for rocks"

i dunno it just makes me think of a rock tumbling down a hill about to smash into cars on a highway for some reason.....

THis is not, in any way, Dylan's best song. Not musically, not lyrically. But still, I can't say it isn't a masterpiece, and that it is probably the most influential song this genious has written. Simply brilliant. "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal". Outstanding.

I believe this song is either about a woman who lived her whole life with money and prestige and one day she either realizes that all that money is worthless, or she loses that money somehow. She always looked down on the poor people, but never took time to look at them objectively, and now she's one of them.

I find the tone troubling. It takes pleasure in this girls fall from grace or inocence. It not compassionate at all. There seems to be a pleasure in taking her as low as possible- making deals with the mystery tramp presumably for a little company or place to stay or protection. Its cruel epiloge to a loss of innocence with no hope or redemption. No idealism or beauty. Almost a curse of fortune upon someone yet to fall- "Now, How Does This Feel, Bitchl"? The Jimi Hendrix version is even more so when he adds: "Look at ya!"