May 2, 2014

NEW YORK -- One of the most popular songs of all time, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," is going to auction this summer. Sotheby's is offering a working draft of the finished song in Dylan's hand for up to $2 million. The draft is written in pencil on four sheets of hotel letterhead stationery with revisions, additions, notes and doodles: a hat, a bird, an animal with antlers. The stationery is from the Roger Smith hotel in Washington, D.C...

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- One of the most popular songs of all time, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," is going to auction this summer.

Sotheby's is offering a working draft of the finished song in Dylan's hand for up to $2 million.

The draft is written in pencil on four sheets of hotel letterhead stationery with revisions, additions, notes and doodles: a hat, a bird, an animal with antlers. The stationery is from the Roger Smith hotel in Washington, D.C.

"How does it feel To be on your own" it says in his handwriting. "No direction home Like a complete unknown Like a rolling stone."

Scrawls seem to reflect the artist's experimentation with rhymes.

The name "Al Capone" is scrawled in the margin, with a line leading to the lyrics "Like a complete unknown."

Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!

Another note says: "... dry vermouth, you'll tell the truth ..."

Dylan was only 24 when he recorded the song in 1965.

The auction is June 24 as part of Sotheby's rock and pop music sale.

Sotheby's described the seller as a longtime fan from California "who met his hero in a non-rock context and bought directly from Dylan." He was not identified.

Sotheby's says it is "the only known surviving draft of the final lyrics for this transformative rock anthem."

In 2010, John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for "A Day in the Life," the final track on the Beatles' classic 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," sold for $1.2 million, the record for such a sale.

Story Tags

Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:

For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.

Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!