A rolling stone gathers no moss

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

A rolling stone gathers no moss is an old proverb, credited to Publius Syrus, who in his Sententiae states, People who are always moving, with no roots in one place, avoid responsibilities and cares. As such, the proverb is often interpreted as referring to figurative nomads who avoid taking on responsibilities or cultivating or advancing their own knowledge, experience, or culture. Another interpretation equates "moss" to "stagnation"; as such the proverb can also refer to those who keep moving as never lacking for fresh ideas or creativity.

In English

The conventional English translation appeared in John Heywood's collection of Proverbs in 1546. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable also credits Erasmus, and relates it to other Latin proverbs, Planta quae saepius transfertus non coalescit, or Saepius plantata arbor fructum profert exiguum, which mean that a frequently replanted plant or tree (respectively) yields little fruit. It appears that the original intent of the proverb saw the growth of moss as desirable, and that the intent was to condemn mobility as unprofitable.

The contemporary interpretation of equating moss to undesirable stagnation has turned the traditional understanding on its head: Erasmus's proverb gave the name "rolling stone" to people who are agile (mobile) and never get rusty due to constant motion.

Accuracy

The saying may not be authentic to Syrus; the Latinish form usually given, Saxum volutum non obducitur musco, does not appear in the edited texts of Publilius Syrus. It does, however, appear with similar wording in Erasmus' Adagia, which was first published around 1500. It is also given as "Musco lapis volutus haud obducitur," and in some cases as "Musco lapis volutus haud obvolvitur"

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.

Cultural references

In Music

This proverb is alluded to in many types of modern music:

• The union activist Joe Hill's last will, written in the form of a song in 1915 states: "My kin don’t need to fuss and moan “Moss does not cling to rolling stone.”See NYTimes Article

• The blues musician Muddy Waters wrote a 1948 song called "Rollin' Stone", which contains the lyrics: "I got a boy child's comin,
  He's gonna be, he's gonna be a rollin stone" His 1955 recording "Mannish Boy" includes the phrase "I'm a rollin' stone".

• Hank Williams's 1952 hit "Lost Highway" (originally by Leon Payne) begins "I'm a rollin stone, all alone and lost, for a life of sin I've paid the cost."

• Stanleyt Wilson wrote "A Rollin' Stone" and it was included on his album "An Evening With Stan Wilson" in 1955. Wilson said that he wrote the song ten years earlier while serving in the Merchant Marine during the war. The opening line goes: A rollin' stone gathers no moss.

• Buddy Holly's 1957 song "Early in the Morning" includes the line: "Well you know a rolling stone don't gather no moss".

• The Kingston Trio included the Stan Wilson Song "A Rollin' Stone" on their 1959 Capitol album "Here We Go Again". The version contained on that album was a solo by founding member Bob Shane.

• Brian Jones was inspired by Muddy Waters's lyrics when he called the band he founded with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart The Rolling Stones in 1962/63.

• Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Like a Rolling Stone", which appeared on his album Highway 61 Revisited, may refer to the original proverb.

• Jimi Hendrix used the full, translated version of the proverb in the lyrics to the song "Highway Chile" on the album Are You Experienced.

• Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason founded the music magazine Rolling Stone in 1967.

• The Beatles used the words "Like a Rolling Stone" three times in the beginning of their song "Dig It" released on the 1970 album "Let it Be".

• Don McLean's "American Pie" in 1971 claims that "… moss grows fat on a rolling stone, but that's not how it used to be."

• The Temptations made the #1 hit "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" in 1971.

• Joan Osborne's 1995 song "One of Us" compares God to a "Holy Rolling Stone".

• Sublime's 1996 song "Same in the End" alludes, "Daddy was a rollin' rollin' stone. He rolled away one day and then he never came home."

• Lucky Dube also uses the proverb in his song "Rolling Stone," from the album The Way It Is released in 1999: "I'm a rolling stone, 'Cause a rolling stone, Gathers no moss."

• The Dave Matthews Band alludes to the negative connotation of the phrase in the 2002 song "Busted Stuff": "A rolling stone gathers no moss, but leaves a trail of busted stuff."

• Noah Gundersen references this proverb in his 2008 song "Moss on a Rolling Stone": "I believe moss on a rolling stone is better than the rest that's growing on my home."

• Jay Z alludes to the proverb in his song "Guns and Roses", which features Lenny Kravitz.

• Bruno Mars references the proverb in his song "Runaway Baby": "Your poor little heart will end up alone, 'cause Lord knows I'm a rolling stone."

• Curren$y uses the proverb in his song "On My Plane", off his debut album "This Aint No Mixtape".

In Television

• In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "The Algae's Always Greener," Sheldon J. Plankton states that "A rolling stone gathers no algae."

Other media references

• A recurring GEICO radio advertisement poses this question, "Does a rolling stone gather no moss?" The sound of a tumbling rock is heard, and it follows up, "No moss. You're going to have to trust me on this."

In Psychiatry

Because it is so well known, this saying is one of the most common proverbs used in psychological tests for mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, to look for difficulty with abstraction. American research conducted in the 1950s between Air Force basic airmen and hospitalized Veterans Administration patients with schizophrenia found that the way a person interprets proverbs can be used to determine abstraction ability. The lack of abstraction ability in these studies was statistically significantly higher in the VA patients and it has thus been construed as indicating pathology. As persons with mental illness are generally believed to demonstrate 'concrete' thinking (a tendency to interpret abstract concepts literally) the research results have, in practice, often been improperly generalized to suggest proverbs alone can be a sufficient indicator of mental illness.

A 'concrete' interpretation of the proverb "a rolling stone gathers no moss" would simply restate the proverb in different words, rather than delivering any metaphorical meaning. For example, a 'concrete' interpretation of the proverb would be: "If you roll a stone down a hill, it won't pick up any moss." This kind of answer is considered a failure to abstract and fails the psychological test. An example of an abstract interpretation is when substitution of metaphors occurs: A "rolling stone" is interpreted as an unsettled person or a busy person and "moss" is interpreted something to be avoided or, conversely, something to be desired. The important feature of the test is the discernment and substitution of metaphors rather than a particularly 'correct' answer.

Critics of using proverbs this way point out that:

• 'sane' persons who have never heard the proverb will interpret the proverb 'concretely'
• proverbs are neither a necessary, nor sufficient test for mental illness;
• while a negative (concrete) result indicates nothing, there is anecdotal evidence that negative results are incorrectly used to diagnose mental illness;
• while a positive (abstract) result strongly indicates no mental illness, there is anecdotal evidence that positive results are frequently ignored.

This method was used in the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in order to interrogate McMurphy and to test his mental state. His first response was, "It's the same as 'Don't wash your dirty underwear in public'", which confused the doctors, then he said, "It's hard for something to grow on something that's moving."

The method is also mentioned in Philip Dick's novel We Can Build You, where the main character, Luis, fails to recognize the meaning of the proverb, and is thus diagnosed with 'Magma Mater' schizophrenia.

See also

• Chien de Jean de Nivelle
• Fortune favours the bold
• It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings