‘Like a Rolling Stone’ explores global issues such as transformation, inequality and privilege. Throughout the song, Dylan talks about someone who has not taken advantage of the opportunities that she was given. She was given the opportunity to have a good education and received “precious gifts,” however, she never made use of these things. Her choice to not engage in her education caused her to have to “live out on the street.”
Dylan uses visual imagery to portray the privilege of upper-class people, using “princess” to visualise an innocent woman who grew up and lived in a well-protected, separated from reality. Such “princesses” are usually seen as people who live in a safe bubble, oblivious to the bitter reality that the majority lives in. He uses this as a generalised image for those people of the high society who see themselves highly over the others. The “steeple” which is a tall, church tower also symbolises the high society who see themselves above street people, believes they are more educated to look down on them. However, Dylan is also hinting that their privilege would not last forever. In great contrast to the arrogance of the “pretty people” and “princess” these people were, they now ironically fall from the upper class and have no choice but to live a completely different street people life. By vividly presenting a utopia and crushing it to nothing later, Dylan tries to tell his audiences that even the most wealthy person can become a no one, therefore implied that life is constantly changing; they need to face the reality eventually.
The song lyrics tell the story of the girl who always “dressed so fine”, went to the “finest” schools, and but only used to get “juiced in it”. Although you attend these ‘finest’ schools, you don’t always receive the maximum benefit or ‘street-smartness.’ It’s more a falsified image of being street smart, but in reality, it’s a wastage of the opportunities you’re given. She never took advantage of the education that she was provided with which caused her to have to live out on the streets.
The song lyrics then talk about how the girl has never had to live out on the street and therefore does not know how rough it is to live out on the streets until she has to do so herself. This emphasises the fact that the girl was living well, enjoying herself and becoming overly confident in her position of “power” and wealth without realising what was happening around her. She only realised the hardships of not living so comfortably when she had to do so herself. We can therefore relate the lyrics to the theme of “good times” not lasting – the fact that the girl has been exposed to such a good life, without recognising the privilege that she has shows us that the good times that she had did not last, and she is now forced to live without that privilege and wealth.
The phrase “rolling stone” is a shortened version of the phrase “A rolling stone gathers no moss” which often refers to a person who tends to move around a lot and doesn’t have a lot of stability in their lives. The value of gathering mass is a result of someone who is willing to take up duties and responsibilities and has some form of consistency. So, in this song, Dylan uses this phrase to describe the respective girl of having no stability in her life and constantly tumbling down a downhill path, losing everything she has ever had and leaving anything important and real behind her, instead going from place to place without truly developing anything worthwhile almost as if she’s stuck in a downward spiral. This relates to the global issue of change through the person’s transition from privilege to desolation. Understanding that reality is different from the portrayed image, and often, we are not always exposed to the truth as we are distracted by falsified images of society.
