Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (1973) – Bob Dylan

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door comes from soundtrack album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. I’ve always thought it’s a bit of an underrated record, even if today’s song certainly isn’t – it’s one of Bob Dylan’s most recognisable tracks and became one of his biggest hits.

Not to rain on its parade, but Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door isn’t even my favourite from the album – that would go to Main Title Theme (Billy). I wouldn’t place it in my top 50 Dylan songs either. Still, it’s become so ingrained in pop culture – with countless versions saturating the airwaves – and has served as a gateway for non-fans to take a peek down the Dylan rabbit hole. That alone gives it real weight.

So, yes the song was written for the film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. Dylan even makes a brief appearance as Alias . He would later record Kristofferson’s song They Killed Him.

---

The following was abridged from the Wikipedia article:

Biographer Clinton Heylin described the song “an exercise in splendid simplicity”. It features two short verses, the lyrics of which comment directly on the scene in the film for which it was written: the death of a frontier lawman (Slim Pickens) who refers to his wife (Katy Jurado) as “Mama”.

The song was released two months after the film’s premiere, and became a worldwide hit. It reached No. 1 in Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and Ireland , No 2 in the UK, No 12 in Australia and No 18 in the US and top 10 in a whole host of other countries.

The song became one of Dylan’s most popular and most performed post-1960s songs, spawning recordings by Eric Clapton, Guns N’ Roses, Randy Crawford, and others.

[Verse 1]
Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore
It’s getting dark, too dark to see
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

[Chorus]
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

[Verse 2]
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can’t shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is coming down
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

[Chorus]
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

[Outro]
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh

References:
1. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Wikipedia