Little Hawk said "The phrase "like a rolling stone" did indeed derive from some old blues song(s)...and that's typical of Bob, because his songs are FULL of affectionate references to the decades of musical tradition he soaked up like a sponge when he was a teenager. Why? Because he LOVES that stuff, that's why. It's exactly the same reason you or I would put something like that in a song, something that connects back to the musical traditions we love".

I couldn't agree more. Bob listened to everything he could. I think that his willingness to love music rather than to categorize it allowed him to draw from all of these sources when writing. He has an unbelievable scope of work over forty years, yet he still does songs that he didn't write in his concerts. Duncan and Brady, The Stanley Brothers "Somebody Touched Me" and "I Am The Man, Thomas" spring to mind. He was a big fan of the Grand Old Opry, Bill Monroe and The Stanleys also had a big influence on him.

In terms of world changing I think that Freewheelin' changed the world a lot more than LARS.