Bob Dylan's original handwritten lyrics to Like a Rolling Stone are expected to set a new world record when they auction at Sotheby's New York on June 24.
The lot is estimated to make $2m, almost double the handwritten lyrics record of $1.2m set by the Beatles' A Day in the Life in 2010.
Dylan wrote the song in 1965 following an exhausting tour of the UK. Its triumphantly vitriolic message struck a chord with a generation exhausted by the tribulations of the 1960s.
 Like a Rolling Stone was written in 1965 after an exhausting tour of the UK |
It was a sign of the times that a brooding, raucous six and a half minute epic could take to the top of the charts, although the Beatles' Help held it off the number one slot in the US.
The lyrics are written on four sheets of stationary from the Roger Smith Hotel in Washington DC ("One block from the Whitehouse") and are accompanied by notes that document Dylan's life at the time.
There are a number of fascinating variations on the song's famous refrain, which offer a glimpse into the songwriter's composition process. Dylan tries out "get down and kneel" and "shut up and deal" before settling for "how does it feel?"
The original lyrics to A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall (1962) will also feature in the auction, with a high estimate of $600,000.
Dylan memorabilia invariably performs well at auction due to his enormous impact on pop culture. In December last year the Fender Strat he used to perform the song for the first time at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival made $965,000 at Christie's New York.
In 2010, his lyrics for The Times They Are a-Changin achieved $422,500 at Sotheby's.
We have Dylan's autographed set list from a 2001 concert.
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