what is "knocking on Heaven's door" by GNR really talking about?

Question

I really like the lyrics to 'Knocking on Heaven's door' by Guns N Roses except I'm not sure what it's talking about.
Does anyone know?
Just because Guns N Roses sing it everyone says it's talking about drugs and I know it isn't because the song was originally composed and sung by Bob Dylan.

I'm not sure where the confusion is but,
yes, I know that Bob Dylan originally done the song and that GNR re-did it.

Answer 1

Dylan wrote this for the film Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid. Dylan was in the movie. In the movie, the song is about Pat Garrett, and outlaw who is made into a sheriff and ordered to hunt down his old friend billy the kid. "Mama, take this badge off of me, I can't use it anymore." It's the sheriff's badge, he has no desire to be one when it becomes clear that he must help kill the lifestyle he truly loves. Those are the facts, but in a specific sense I take the knockin' on heaven's door to be about how close Garret is to being an outlaw again, his heaven. In the non-movie related sense of the song, I think it's about a man deciding to be killed rather than fight back, and he's going to die, but he thinks his decision puts him at heaven's door

Answer 2

GNR actually covered a Bob Dylan song here. Off of Wikipedia here's the story:

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song written by Bob Dylan from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, the soundtrack of the 1973 film of the same name. 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. The lyrics consist of a story surrounding the death of the Russian Orthodox bishop Jonah of Manchuria using the backdrop of the American Western frontier. In 2004, it was voted number 190 by representatives of the music industry and press in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" issue.

Answer 3

Pat Garrett ,the man who killed Billy the Kid,his former friend.It's from the movie like the post above says.Somebody messed with that wiki though,that russian bishop stuff is horse puckey. The lyrics are quite literal and straight-forward.Axl Rose slaughters the song and not in a good way.Jim Carrey used to do a parody of GnR .He ripped them pretty good but it's hard to go further over the top,when Axl Rose pretty much fell down the other side.Pat Garrett was a marshall,wore a badge and guns.

Answer 4

oh you don't think bob dylan would sing about drugs?it seems the long black cloud is coming down. the songs gotta be about dying

Answer 5

Bob Dylan's unique, and the 1994 Dunblane charity cover. plenty as i admire GN'R, they thoroughly ruined the song for me ~ what the heck grow to be with that stupid 'cellular-telephone call'?

Answer 6

The lyrics are about the death of the Russian Orthodox bishop Jonah of Manchuria

Answer 7

You mean Bob Dylan wasn't on drugs?!?!?

Answer 8

If you go to the website below, you'll find all the information you could possible want - and maybe more....

www.songfacts.com

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGki_FaXtGQ5EA3aJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3b3V2cjFpBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3cEdnRpZANGOTQxXzE0MwRsA1dTMQ--/SIG=121p9u8bo/EXP=1182579525/**http%3a//www.songfacts.com/detail.php%3fid=3002

Edit: Seems that muffinman beat me to this answer....
Looks like I'm knockin' on Heaven's Door

Answer 9

you got it wrong it was by bob dylan

Answer 10

doing drug and alcohol to its fullest extent and living through it