Knockin' on Heaven's Door: Rolling Stones #192 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2010)

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Single: Bob Dylan

Album: Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

B-side: Turkey Chase

Released: July 13, 1973

Genre: Folk rock, gospel

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan wrote "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" for the soundtrack to the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. When the song was released as a single, it reached the Top 10 in several countries. 

In 2010, the Western Writers of America surveyed its membership to choose the Top 100 Western Songs of all time. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was voted number 34. The same year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 192 of their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 film about an aging Pat Garrett hired as a lawman to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid. Bob Dylan composed the score and songs for the film, which were released on its soundtrack album. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score for the effort.

Mama, take this badge off of me

I can't use it anymore

It's gettin' dark, too dark for me to see

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is written from the perspective of a dying sheriff. It plays while Sheriff Colin Baker is dying from his gunshot wounds. 

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses released a live cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" on the 12-inch single "Welcome to the Jungle" in 1987. They recorded and released a studio version in 1990 for the soundtrack of Days of Thunder. The song reached number 18 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

Guns N' Roses played "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" at a tribute to Freddie Mercury in 1992. Mercury, the frontman for Queen, died of AIDS. The concert, held in London's Wembley Stadium, was attended by 72,000 people.