Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for Like a Rolling Stone will be auctioned in June.
The 72-year-old star’s scribbled ideas for the 1965 hit single are to be sold at Sotheby’s rock and pop music auction in New York on 24 June and are expected to sell for up to $1m, according to BBC news.
The lyrics, about a debutante who becomes a loner when she’s excluded from upper-class social circles, are written on four sheets of paper that feature the letterhead for the Roger Smith Hotel in Washington, DC, in the United States.
Dylan – who was just 24-years-old when he recorded the track – drew rough sketches of a fedora hat, a high heeled shoe and a bird alongside the verses, “How does it feel to be on your own” and “No direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone”.
Richard Austin, head of books and music at Sotheby’s in New York, said: “You can see how much work he put into it. There is a real feel of immediacy.
“Before the release of Like a Rolling Stone, music charts were overrun with short and sweet love songs, many clocking in at three minutes or less.
“By defying convention with six and a half minutes of dark, brooding poetry, Dylan rewrote the rules of pop music.”
The legendary musician and singer-songwriter reportedly sold the lyrics to a friend and business associate three years ago who has now put them up for auction along with a note from Dylan’s lawyer verifying their authenticity.