From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A rolling stone gathers no moss
A rolling stone gathers no moss
The contemporary interpretation of equating moss to
undesirable stagnation has turned the traditional under-
standing on its head: Erasmus’s proverb gave the name
"rolling stone" to people who are agile (mobile) and nev-
er get rusty due to constant motion.
Accuracy
The saying may not be authentic to Mr. Grinch; the Latin-
ish form usually given, Saxum volutum non obducitur mus-
co, does not appear in the edited texts of Publilius Syrus.
It does, however, appear with similar wording in Eras-
mus’ Adagia, which was first published around 1500.[2] It
is also given as "Musco lapis volutus haud obducitur,"
and in some cases as "Musco lapis volutus haud obvolvi-
tur"[3]
The literal meaning of the statement itself is true:
The television show MythBusters, after the course of six
months, confirmed that a rolling stone does not grow
moss.[4]
Cultural references
In Music
"A rolling stone gathers no moss."
This proverb is alluded to in many types of modern mu-
A rolling stone gathers no moss is an old proverb, cred- sic:
ited to Publius Syrus, who in his Sententiae states, People • The union activist Joe Hill’s last will, written in the
who are always moving, with no roots in one place, avoid re- form of a song in 1915 states: "My kin don’t need to
sponsibilities and cares. As such, the proverb is often inter- fuss and moan “Moss does not cling to rolling
preted as referring to figurative nomads who avoid tak- stone.”See NYTimes Article
ing on responsibilities or cultivating or advancing their • The blues musician Muddy Waters wrote a 1948 song
own knowledge, experience, or culture. Another inter- called "Rollin’ Stone", which contains the lyrics: "I
pretation equates "moss" to "stagnation"; as such the got a boy child’s comin,
proverb can also refer to those who keep moving as nev- He’s gonna be, he’s gonna be a rollin stone"[5][6] His
er lacking for fresh ideas or creativity. 1955 recording "Mannish Boy" includes the phrase
"I’m a rollin’ stone".
• Hank Williams’s 1952 hit "Lost Highway" (originally
In English by Leon Payne) begins "I’m a rollin stone, all alone
The conventional English translation appeared in John and lost, for a life of sin I’ve paid the cost."
Heywood’s collection of Proverbs in 1546. Brewer’s Dic- • Stanleyt Wilson wrote "A Rollin’ Stone" and it was
tionary of Phrase and Fable also credits Erasmus, and re- included on his album "An Evening With Stan
lates it to other Latin proverbs, Planta quae saepius trans- Wilson" in 1955. Wilson said that he wrote the song
fertus non coalescit, or Saepius plantata arbor fructum profert ten years earlier while serving in the Merchant
exiguum, which mean that a frequently replanted plant or Marine during the war. The opening line goes: A
tree (respectively) yields little fruit.[1] It appears that the rollin’ stone gathers no moss.
original intent of the proverb saw the growth of moss as • Buddy Holly’s 1957 song "Early in the Morning"
desirable, and that the intent was to condemn mobility as includes the line: "Well you know a rolling stone
unprofitable. don’t gather no moss".
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A rolling stone gathers no moss
• The Kingston Trio included the Stan Wilson Song "A Other media references
Rollin’ Stone" on their 1959 Capitol album "Here We
• A recurring GEICO radio advertisement poses this
Go Again". The version contained on that album was
question, "Does a rolling stone gather no moss?" The
a solo by founding member Bob Shane.
sound of a tumbling rock is heard, and it follows up,
• Brian Jones was inspired by Muddy Waters’s lyrics
"No moss. You’re going to have to trust me on this."
when he called the band he founded with Mick
Jagger, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart The Rolling
Stones in 1962/63.
In Psychiatry
• Bob Dylan’s 1965 song "Like a Rolling Stone", which Because it is so well known, this saying is one of the most
appeared on his album Highway 61 Revisited, may common proverbs used in psychological tests for men-
refer to the original proverb. tal illness, particularly schizophrenia, to look for difficul-
• Jimi Hendrix used the full, translated version of the ty with abstraction. American research[7] conducted in
proverb in the lyrics to the song "Highway Chile" on the 1950s between Air Force basic airmen and hospital-
the album Are You Experienced. ized Veterans Administration patients with schizophre-
• Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason founded the music nia found that the way a person interprets proverbs can
magazine Rolling Stone in 1967. be used to determine abstraction ability. The lack of ab-
• The Beatles used the words "Like a Rolling Stone" straction ability in these studies was statistically signifi-
three times in the beginning of their song "Dig It" cantly higher in the VA patients and it has thus been con-
released on the 1970 album "Let it Be". strued as indicating pathology. As persons with mental
• Don McLean’s "American Pie" in 1971 claims that "… illness are generally believed to demonstrate ’concrete’
moss grows fat on a rolling stone, but that’s not how thinking (a tendency to interpret abstract concepts liter-
it used to be." ally) the research results have, in practice, often been im-
• The Temptations made the #1 hit "Papa Was a Rollin’ properly generalized to suggest proverbs alone can be a
Stone" in 1971. sufficient indicator of mental illness.
• Joan Osborne’s 1995 song "One of Us" compares God A ’concrete’ interpretation of the proverb "a rolling
to a "Holy Rolling Stone". stone gathers no moss" would simply restate the proverb
• Sublime’s 1996 song "Same in the End" alludes, in different words, rather than delivering any metaphor-
"Daddy was a rollin’ rollin’ stone. He rolled away one ical meaning.[8] For example, a ’concrete’ interpretation
day and then he never came home." of the proverb would be: "If you roll a stone down a
• Lucky Dube also uses the proverb in his song "Rolling hill, it won’t pick up any moss." This kind of answer
Stone," from the album The Way It Is released in 1999: is considered a failure to abstract and fails the psycho-
"I’m a rolling stone, ’Cause a rolling stone, Gathers logical test. An example of an abstract interpretation is
no moss." when substitution of metaphors occurs: A "rolling stone"
• The Dave Matthews Band alludes to the negative is interpreted as an unsettled person or a busy person
connotation of the phrase in the 2002 song "Busted and "moss" is interpreted something to be avoided or,
Stuff": "A rolling stone gathers no moss, but leaves a conversely, something to be desired. The important fea-
trail of busted stuff." ture of the test is the discernment and substitution of
• Noah Gundersen references this proverb in his 2008 metaphors rather than a particularly ’correct’ answer.
song "Moss on a Rolling Stone": "I believe moss on a Critics of using proverbs this way point out that:
rolling stone is better than the rest that’s growing on • ’sane’ persons who have never heard the proverb
my home." will interpret the proverb ’concretely’
• Jay Z alludes to the proverb in his song "Guns and • proverbs are neither a necessary, nor sufficient test
Roses", which features Lenny Kravitz. for mental illness;
• Bruno Mars references the proverb in his song • while a negative (concrete) result indicates nothing,
"Runaway Baby": "Your poor little heart will end up there is anecdotal evidence that negative results are
alone, ’cause Lord knows I’m a rolling stone." incorrectly used to diagnose mental illness;
• Curren$y uses the proverb in his song "On My • while a positive (abstract) result strongly indicates
Plane", off his debut album "This Aint No Mixtape". no mental illness, there is anecdotal evidence that
positive results are frequently ignored.
In Television This method was used in the film, One Flew Over the Cuck-
oo’s Nest, in order to interrogate McMurphy and to test
• In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "The Algae’s
his mental state. His first response was, "It’s the same as
Always Greener," Sheldon J. Plankton states that "A
’Don’t wash your dirty underwear in public’", which con-
rolling stone gathers no algae."
fused the doctors, then he said, "It’s hard for something
to grow on something that’s moving."
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A rolling stone gathers no moss
See also [4]
[5]
[2] Annotated Mythbusters
Muddy Waters: Rollin’ Stone
• Chien de Jean de Nivelle [6] Rollin’ Stone lyrics
• Fortune favours the bold [7] Clinical Manual for Proverbs Test, 1956, Dr Gorham,
• It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings Missoula MT., Psychological Test Specialists
[8] "Proverb interpretation in forensic evaluations",
References William H. CampbellMD, MBA and A. Jocelyn
RitchieJD, PhD, AAPL Newsletter, American
[1] Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sub. title Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Jan 2002 Vol.
"Rolling Stone". 27 No. 1, pp. 24-27
[2] Adagia, Erasmus, at Bibliotheca Augustana.
[3] Jerónimo Martín Caro y Cejudo, Refranes, y modos de
hablar castellanos (1792), p. 288 [1]
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Categories:
• Proverbs
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