Chords + Lyrics | Like A Rolling Stone
Intro
||: C F/C C :|| x 4
Verse 1
| C Dm | Em F | G (G6) | G (G6) |
Once upon a time you dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?
| C Dm | Em F | G (G6) | G (G6) |
People call say ‘beware doll, you’re bound to fall’, you thought they were all kidding you.
| F | G | F | G |
You used to laugh about, everybody that was hanging out.
| F Em | Dm7 C | F Em | Dm7 C |
Now you don’t talk so loud, now you don’t seem so proud.
| Dm7 | F (F6) | G | G |
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
Chorus 1
||: C F | G | C F | G :||
How does it feel, how does it feel? To be without a home.
Like a complete unknown. Like a rolling stone.
Instrumental 1
| C F | G | C F | G | G (G6) |
Verse 2
Ahh, you’ve gone to the finest schools, alright, Miss 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 say you 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.
| Dm7 | F (F6) | G (G6) | G (G6) |
And say do you want to, make a deal?
Chorus 2
How does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own.
With no direction home. A complete unknown. Like a rolling stone.
Instrumental 2
| C F | G (G6) | G (G6) |
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
Ah, 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 a chrome horse with your diplomat, who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat.
Ain’t it hard when you discovered that, he really wasn’t where it’s at.
After he took from you everything he could steal.
Chorus 3
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.
Instrumental 3
| C F | G | G |
Verse 4 (as verse 2)
Ahh princess on a steeple and all the pretty people, they’re all drinking, thinking that they’ve got it made.
Exchanging all precious gifts, but you better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it, babe.
You used to be so amused at Napoleon in rags and the language that he used.
Go to him he calls you, you can’t refuse. When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose.
You’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal.
Chorus 4
How does it feel? Ah, how does it feel? To be on your own.
With no direction home. Like a complete unknown. Like a rolling stone.
Outro
||: C F | G | C F | G :|| to fade
Like A Rolling Stone Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Like A Rolling Stone. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Bob Dylan‘s masterpiece, Like A Rolling Stone, features chords that are completely diatonic to the key of C.
Intro
The intro consists of the I chord, moving to the IV while maintaining the bass of chord I, like this:
||: C (I) F/C (IV/5) C :||
It’s possible to play this on acoustic guitar with some modification, I use TAB to explain how if you keep scrolling down this guitar lesson.
Verse
Once the verse kicks in, we start climbing up the scale, using open-position chords:
| C (I) Dm (II) | Em (III) F (IV) | G (V) (G6) | G (G6) |
The G6 doesn’t appear in every verse and is played more like a guitar lick. After repeating the first idea, we move into what almost feels like a bridge:
| F (IV) | G (V) | F | G |
Next, we descend, contrasting with the initial idea:
| F (IV) Em (III) | Dm7 (II) C (I) | F Em | Dm7 C |
The final line of the verse is:
| Dm7 (II) | F (IV) (F6) | G (V) | G |
In some verses, this is slightly varied with the bass shifting from D to F:
| Dm7 (II) | Dm7 F (IV) | G (V) | G |
Chorus
The chorus is simple, following a I – IV – V progression:
||: C (I) F (IV) | G (V) :||
Instrumental
The instrumental section mirrors the chorus, staying on G a little longer before returning to the verse to repeat the pattern.
Once you’ve practised with the TAB, a chord chart will be all you need.
Like A Rolling Stone Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Like A Rolling Stone chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Like A Rolling Stone iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Like A Rolling Stone | TAB
This may be a lyrical masterpiece that most people play in a band rather than as a solo acoustic guitar version—after all, Bob Dylan has plenty of those to choose from!
Surprisingly, I found it works extremely well on just one guitar, so I’ve made some TAB for you to try. This might be one of the best tunes ever written—it’s so simple and perfect, with world-class lyrics—so let’s give it a go.
Here’s the intro:
Looking at the TAB, you might think it should say F/A, since that’s what the chord shape suggests, but the bass on the recording holds a C.
It’s not the most comfortable thing to play. If you’re in a band and on electric, skip the bass note on string 6 and keep it all on strings 2–4—it’ll sit better in the mix that way.
The good news is it’s only four bars before you move on to open-position chords.
Here’s the verse:
Notice how the arrangement builds—bars 1 and 2 are mostly picked single notes. After the repeat and descent, we shift to fuller strumming.
Get it exactly like the TAB first, then let go and start playing what feels natural.
Finally, here’s the chorus:
For most, this is probably a masterclass in writing a poignant tune. For me, it’s all about the discipline and subtlety of how the guitar part builds.
If you want to play with Bob’s band, adjust what you’ve seen here using an electric guitar as you jam along with the backing tracks.
Like A Rolling Stone Chords: Continue Learning
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