English through music · Bob Dylan · B2. Guarda il video, leggi l’analisi della canzone, poi rifletti sulle domande. Gli esempi e gli spezzoni citati sono in inglese, con traduzione.
Released in 1965, “Like a Rolling Stone” changed the sound of popular music. It was long, loud and angry, very different from the gentle folk songs Dylan had written before. Many critics consider it one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
Pubblicata nel 1965, «Like a Rolling Stone» cambiò il suono della musica popolare. Era lunga, forte e rabbiosa, molto diversa dalle dolci canzoni folk che Dylan aveva scritto prima. Molti critici la considerano una delle più grandi canzoni mai registrate.
Publicada en 1965, «Like a Rolling Stone» cambió el sonido de la música popular. Era larga, fuerte y airada, muy distinta de las suaves canciones folk que Dylan había escrito antes. Muchos críticos la consideran una de las mejores canciones jamás grabadas.
Sortie en 1965, « Like a Rolling Stone » a changé le son de la musique populaire. Elle était longue, forte et rageuse, très différente des douces chansons folk que Dylan avait écrites auparavant. Beaucoup de critiques la considèrent comme l’une des plus grandes chansons jamais enregistrées.
Das 1965 veröffentlichte „Like a Rolling Stone“ veränderte den Klang der Popmusik. Es war lang, laut und zornig, ganz anders als die sanften Folksongs, die Dylan zuvor geschrieben hatte. Viele Kritiker halten es für eines der größten Lieder, die je aufgenommen wurden.
Выпущенная в 1965 году, «Like a Rolling Stone» изменила звучание популярной музыки. Она была длинной, громкой и злой, совсем не похожей на мягкие фолк-песни, которые Дилан писал прежде. Многие критики считают её одной из величайших песен, когда-либо записанных.
صدرت «Like a Rolling Stone» عام 1965 فغيّرت صوت الموسيقى الشعبية. كانت طويلة وصاخبة وغاضبة، مختلفة جدًا عن أغاني الفولك الرقيقة التي كتبها ديلان من قبل. ويعدّها كثير من النقاد واحدة من أعظم الأغاني التي سُجّلت على الإطلاق.
《Like a Rolling Stone》发行于1965年，改变了流行音乐的声音。它篇幅长、声音大、充满愤怒，与迪伦此前创作的温柔民谣截然不同。许多乐评人认为它是有史以来最伟大的歌曲之一。
1965年に発表された「Like a Rolling Stone」は、ポピュラー音楽の響きを変えました。長く、大きく、怒りに満ちていて、ディランがそれまで書いていた優しいフォークソングとはまるで違っていました。多くの批評家が、史上最も偉大な曲の一つに数えています。
The song speaks to a young woman who once had money, status and important friends, but who has now lost everything and must live on the street. The narrator reminds her of how she used to look down on other people.
He asks her, again and again, how it feels to be alone with no home and no name. It is a portrait of a great fall from comfort into hardship.
The tone of the song is famously hard, even cruel. Yet many listeners hear something more complex in it. To lose everything is painful, but it can also be a kind of freedom.
When you have nothing left to protect, you are free to become who you really are. The phrase “like a rolling stone” suggests a person with no fixed home, always moving — which can be frightening, but also liberating.
When it was released, the song broke the rules. Pop songs were usually short and about love; this one was six minutes long and full of anger and poetry.
Radio stations were not sure how to play it, but audiences loved it. Its success proved that popular songs could be serious works of art, and it influenced countless musicians who came after Dylan.
Ecco alcuni versi celebri (con traduzione). Il testo completo è disponibile sul sito ufficiale.
This song is about how a person’s life used to be very different, so it is a good place to study the structure used to.
We use used to + the base form of a verb to talk about habits and situations in the past that are no longer true today: She used to be rich. / He used to live in a big house.
To make a negative, we use didn’t use to: She didn’t use to worry about money. To make a question, we use did … use to: Did you use to live here? After “did” the spelling is “use to”, without the final -d. Finish this in three ways: “When I was younger, I used to …”
Status is a person’s position or rank in society. To look down on someone means to think you are better than them. Hardship is a difficult situation, especially one without money.
Freedom is the power to act or live as you wish. To influence someone means to have an effect on the way they think or act. A masterpiece is a work of art of the very highest quality.
- Do you feel sorry for the woman in the song, or do you think she deserves her situation?
- The song suggests that losing everything can be a kind of freedom; do you agree?
- Why do you think it was surprising for a pop song to be six minutes long and angry?
- Describe how your own daily life used to be different a few years ago.
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