Knockin' on Heaven's Door

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Single by Guns N' Roses
from the album Use Your Illusion II
Released	1992
Recorded	A&M Studios, Record Plant Studios, Studio 56, Image Recording, Conway Studios & Metalworks Recording Studios 1990-1991
Genre	Hard rock
Length	5:40
Label	Geffen
Writer(s)	Bob Dylan
Producer	Mike Clink Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses singles chronology
"Pretty Tied Up" (1992) "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (1992) "Yesterdays" (1992)

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2004, representatives of the music industry and the press voted it #190 in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time issue.

Meaning and song structure

The song describes the feelings and impressions of a dying deputy, who can no longer continue his role.

The song consists of four chords in the key of G major: G, D, Am7, and C. The basic pattern throughout the song is G-D-Am7-Am7 and then G-D-C-C, and this is repeated.

Over the years (and various cover versions), Dylan has changed the lyrics (as have others who have covered the song) during various version and live renditions.

Covers

Although it was originally recorded as an acoustic song, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" has been covered extensively in many styles, most famously by British blues-rocker Eric Clapton and by American hard-rock group Guns N' Roses.

The song was performed by Bob Dylan & the Grateful Dead during the Dylan & The Dead tour in July 1987. Thereafter, the Grateful Dead (between August 1987 and July 1994) sometimes closed their shows with a performance of the song.

Other artists to perform the song include Bob Marley, Herbert Grigor,The Animals, Wyclef Jean, Grateful Dead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mad Zize, Aerosmith, The Sisters of Mercy, Bryan Ferry, Meir Ariel, The Alarm, Dan Kleederman Television, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Heaven, The Lost Dogs, Grzegorz Halama, Luciano, Jah Cza, Randy Crawford, Babyface, Beau Jocques, Chaozz, Roger McGuinn,Cold Chisel, Zé Ramalho, Sandy Denny, Antony and the Johnsons, Warren Zevon (whose version was released two weeks before his death), Roger Waters, Herman Brood, Nazareth, Angela Aki and Tomoya Nagase. Duets on the song include a team-up of the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and U.S. country diva Dolly Parton, and the Red Army Chorus and Ensemble with the Leningrad Cowboys. Another more recent edition to covers of this song is one performed by Jane Gurney with backup singers Geoff C and Robert Staff. It was performed by Ruth Lorenzo on The X Factor (UK)

Although it is not a cover, Gabrielle's UK number one single "Rise" samples extensively from the track.

Eric Clapton version

Eric Clapton recorded a version of the song in June 1975 and released it as a single later that year, two years after Dylan's version was released. Live recordings from this era can be found on official Clapton releases such as 1996's Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies, which features a London performance from April 1977. The song was not included on a full-length album until the release of the 1982 compilation Time Pieces: The Best of Eric Clapton. In 1989, Clapton and David Sanborn backed singer Randy Crawford in a new version recorded for the soundtrack of the film Lethal Weapon 2.

The Alarm's version

The Alarm regularly played the song during their gigs. While supporting U2 during the War Tour, Bono would join leader singer Mike Peters on stage. When The Alarm supported Dylan, the whole band joined him on stage to perform the song.

Guns N' Roses version

In 1987, Guns N' Roses started including the song in their live sets. They recorded a studio version in 1990 for Days of Thunder's soundtrack, and in 1991 it appeared on the Guns N' Roses studio album Use Your Illusion II. Released as the fourth single from the album, it reached #2 in the UK singles chart. Their performance of the song at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 was used as the B-side for the single release and was also included on their Live Era: '87–'93 album, released in 1999.

Dunblane tribute version

In 1996, with the consent of Bob Dylan, musician Ted Christopher of Dunblane, Scotland wrote a new verse for "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in memory of the schoolchildren and teacher killed in the Dunblane massacre. A cover version of the song, which included brothers and sisters of the victims singing the chorus and Mark Knopfler on guitar, was released on December 9 in the UK and reached number 1. The proceeds went to charities for children.

Soundtrack appearances

External links

• A list of cover versions
• Lyrics