VOA慢速英语 词语典故:像滚石一样

　　Words and Their Stories: Like a Rolling Stone

　　词语典故:像滚石一样

　　Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

　　Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music. That saying is a rolling stone gathers no moss. It has several meanings. One meaning is that a person who never settles down in one place will not be successful. Another is that someone who is always moving, with no roots in one place, avoids responsibilities.

　　This proverb was said to be first used in the fifteen hundreds. But in the nineteen sixties, the expression rolling stone became famous in the world of rock-and-roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a song and a magazine.

　　Experts say it all started with a song by the American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was one of the country’s top blues musicians until his death in nineteen eighty-three. His music influenced singers like Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. In nineteen-fifty, Muddy Waters recorded a song called “Rollin’ Stone.”