Once upon a time you dressed so fine,
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 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.
How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be without a home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
Oh, you gone to the finest school, alright, Ms. Lonely,
But you know you only used to get juiced in it.
Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it.
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 say, "Do you want to make a deal?"
How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be on your own,
With no direction home,
A complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
Oh, 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 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?
How does it feel?
How does it feel
To have––be on your own
1,
With no direction home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
Oh, princess on the steeple and all the pretty people,
They're all drinking, thinking that they got it made,
Exchanging all precious gifts,
But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd 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 you, you can't refuse.
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose.
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel?
Oh, how does it feel
To be on your own,
With no direction home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
1
The line is begun accidentally with "[t]o have", but is quickly corrected by inserting "be".