I don't believe you.
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 for your next meal.
How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be one your own,
No direction home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
Well, 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,
You find out 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 wanna make a deal?"
How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be on your own,
No direction home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
Well, you never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns when they all came down to do 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 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's taken everything he can steal?
How does it feel?
How does it feel
To be on your own,
With no direction home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people,
They're all drinking and thinking that they got it made,
Exchanging all precious gifts and things,
But you'd better take your diamond ring down and 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?
Thank you.
1
After "Ballad of a Thin Man" is over, Dylan and his band begin preparations for their next song when all of a sudden the crowd erupts with raucous laughter. Immediately afterwards, a relative calm overtakes the crowd., but then suddenly a shrill voice directed at Dylan screams out: "Judas!" The crowd cheers in assent and no response is to be heard from the brooding and pacing Dylan for some time. Afterwards, the audience erupts with laughter and cheering again and there are numerous catcalls. It seems as if an eternity passes before Dylan replies in his own peculiar terse and abstruse manner with his short answer, "I don't believe you. You're a liar." However, his answer comes in the form of lyric: instruments accompany and indeed back his words as his reply becomes the opening salvo of the next song, his most powerful answer, "Like a Rolling Stone."
2
After the famous "Judas!" exchange, Dylan seems to turn to his band and shout to them, "Play fucking loud!" just before the first chords of "Like a Rolling Stone" are struck. However, it is not clear exactly what he says and even exactly who says it: some claim that it was actually a member of the band that shouted the command and not Dylan at all.