10 Perfect Rock And Roll Protest Songs
1. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
For as long as Bob Dylan has been making music, fans have always been willing to dissect every word that fell out of his mouth. While Dylan had built his livelihood on making songs that ask tough questions, he didn't expect the baggage that came with in, with critics heralding him as the next voice of his generation. There's only so far you can go with that though, and Like A Rolling Stone was the first time the humble folk singer drew a line in the sand between himself and his audience.
While many fans remember this song as being the moment where Dylan officially went electric, there's more to it than Mr. Zimmerman embracing the world of rock and roll. Going through the lyrics, Dylan seems to be taking someone to task about finally finding the big time and falling from grace, asking them how it feels to be out in the wild with no real direction home. Whereas his folk songs may have been more symbolic, you don't know if Dylan is referring to his fanbase or about himself, both being out of their comfort zone and finding it hard to blend into a world they don't recognize anymore.
Dylan may have claimed not to know the way forward, but this song sparked the rock and roll revolution to move forward that much more, leaving the basics of the genre behind with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones expanding the playing field as to what rock and roll meant to them. Bob Dylan may have been the leader of the revolution in the days of Blowin in the Wind, but Like a Rolling Stone is the sound of the rebel rebelling against the rebellion that he started.