Lyrics for Knockin' on Heaven's Door as interpreted by mike

Knockin' on Heaven's Door Lyrics
Mama take this badge from me
I can't use it any more
It's getting dark too dark to see
Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Mama put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them any more
That cold black cloud is comin' down
Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-knockin' on heaven's door
Kn-knockin' on heaven's door
"You just better start sniffin' your own
rank subjugation jack `cause it's just you
against your tattered libido, the bank and
the mortician, forever man and it wouldn't
be luck if you could get out of life alive"
Kn-kn-knockin' on heaven's door

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mjasong1
10-04-2009

Rated 0 
All of you are morons. Not every great song has to have some deep internal meaning. This song is originally by Bob Dylan MADE FOR A MOVIE called "Pat Garret & Billy the Kid". In the movie, a dying cop realizes he will never get to use his badge or gun again. Wake up people!

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reardley1981
08-19-2009

Rated 0 
This song was written about Pat Garrett, the famous lawman who killed Billy the Kid. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out as it was written by Bob Dylan for the sound track to the Sam Peckinpah film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid!

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loubylouxx
01-22-2009

Rated 0 
I kind of feel like this song is about someone who feels like there's no way back for what they've done, and they can't make it better, so they're just trying to move on and maybe reach heaven some day.

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p_money4
01-05-2009

Rated 0 
shadowsprite, considering that dylan, a christian, wrote this song and that heaven is a christian idea, the religion thing kind of makes sense.

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masterofpuppies666
09-30-2008

Rated 0 
well this is just my opnion but this songs sounds like its talking about a police officer who was killed on the job and hes telling his loved ones goodbye.or hes still alive he just knows somethings gonna happin to him.

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shadowsprite
08-22-2008

Rated 0 
FIRST OFF belteshazzar you put religion in this song where there is none. the only mention OF religion is "Heaven" the chores "Knockin' On Heavens Door" Too many people put religion into this song where there is none EXCEPT the mention of "Heaven"

Well listen to it... i mean the members of G'nR were like druggies, i mean come on. The beginning of the song is about shame "Mama take this badge from me
I can't use it any more" basically between the chores hes like 'Mama Im Sorry I really Am'.

"Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door" says yea I know Im pretty much going to die.. im on the road there.
the phone call part ""You just better start sniffin' your own
rank subjugation jack `cause it's just you
against your tattered libido, the bank and
the mortician, forever man and it wouldn't
be luck if you could get out of life alive" is like saying GET YOU SH** TOGETER OF YOUR GOING TO DIE!

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doctadil
06-23-2008

Rated 0 
i always thought that this song was about a police officer (the whole badge reference) who while on the job shot and killed someone who he thought to b an immediant threat but turned out to be completly innocent. now hes in an incredible depression and he is askin for the help of his mum (mama take my badge/ gun from me) to to get out of this hell he has put himself in thats jst how i always interpreted it neway great song great band!

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mahapan
06-22-2008

Rated 0 
bob dylan did this better

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yussi
05-15-2008

Rated 0 
I could use some help here. My english is quite good but it's not good enough to translate some of the lyrics in this song, see i'm getting a tattoo with a few lines out of a guns n roses song. I'm kinda pendling between a few atm. But if someone would be as nice as to translate these following lyrics in a way that i can understand i would be very grateful.

"You just better start sniffin' your own
rank subjugation jack `cause it's just you
against your tattered libido, the bank and
the mortician, forever man and it wouldn't
be luck if you could get out of life alive"

thx!

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iwanes7
04-20-2008

Rated 0 
I think the song is about a veteran soldier. He has retired from the army because of something that he couldn’t resist. He likes what he did.. shooting people or be in a war. But when he doesn’t have the job anymore, he feels confused and mentally down. We can compare this song with the famous Sylvester stalone heroic (yet political… maybe..) movie “RAMBO”. It can be some satire to Vietnam war. Lots of American Soldier experience psychological change after the war. Stressed and depressed or even trauma.

But anything else people have a very difference range of interpretation, it also can be a person that lost fun whatever it is... lost something essential that makes his life better. He’s done it for years, and he can’t do it anymore. That’s what makes him miserable. Umm… drugs, could be related to this, someone who uses drugs but can’t use anymore. It’s painful.

A man who lost his job and experience post power syndrome also makes sense if we can relate to the song.

Anyway, if we read “badge”, shooting people, definitely it’s about a soldier or sheriff that lost his job.

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ryanisarealboy
01-29-2008

Rated 0 
your wrong dat milehighmazda. Guns n roses are awful Dylan is da ishhhhhhh. Listen to Dylans songs then compare em to guns n roses and youll see the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Milehighmazda
01-24-2008

Rated 0 
lol hahahahahahahahaha its a Bob Dylan song that he wrote for a western movie he was in, hence take this badge from me, put my gun into the ground i cant shoot them anymore..........honelstly people! What the hell happened to research!!!!!! just study the song dont say what you THINK! look up Bob Dylans lyrics and stuff great Ballads! Stop flaunting your ignorance!

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loveme
12-19-2007

Rated 0 
i love this song alot, even if it is meant to be about going to war, and that's pretty much comiting suicide, it could also be taken as how ur lliving ur life, maybe u want to be knockin on heaves door, because u don't want to be alive, maybe u don;t like life, or maybe ur just killing urself softly from the way u r living life, and u c no problem with that. Or maybe just maybe, it's just sadly facing the fact that life is very fast and short, and we r all knockin on heavens door...

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ryanisarealboy
12-09-2007

Rated 0 
they ruined a great bob dylan song. they all suckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

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robertoluongofan1
09-09-2007

Rated 0 
The bob dylan version of the song is about a man coming back from the pointless war *vietnam a belive* and being disabled and incapable of removing his badge
"Mama take this badge off of me" He cant remove it himself
"I cant use it anymore" Incapable of fighting anymore
and since he is disabled he no longer has the will to live so he "Feels like im knocking on heavens door

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GSimenon
08-08-2007

Rated 0 
I just love this song, even from the time I hadn't known anything about the English language.

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vieires
06-21-2007

Rated 0 
Dylan can usually sing no better than myself, an Im a dodgy singer, but for some reason he really performed on this song (also on "Ballad of a Thin Man", check it out) and his voice is somewhat beautiful on this track

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Anony
05-27-2007

Rated 0 
I really don't understand this. Bob Dylan's voice is certainly unique and I can see why some people don't like it, but how in the world is Axl's voice better? I can see why some people would like this version more because of Slash's guitar, but why is Axl's whiny shriek almost universally accepted as better than Dylan's hoarse drawl?

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Branchinator
05-23-2007

Rated 0 
Bob Dylan can write good songs, but he can't sing for anything. Axl's voice is perfect for this song, period. A brilliant song

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vieires
05-15-2007

Rated 0 
By the way...Dylan's version is entirely different obviously, but i think it takes the prize in regards to which is better...Dylan's version is masterful, as opposed to the gunners' effort, which is kick ass only

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vieires
05-15-2007

Rated 0 
Just to chime in...

I am pretty sure those who suggest Dylan wrote this for a western movie are entirely correct, and i would dare to add that the character that this song was written for was a sherrif or something very similar...for the uneducated, sherriffs in westerns wore badges...

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rorster
02-02-2007

Rated 0 
this song was written by dylan for a movie called billy the kid i think, and it was a western so shooting was involved. it makes a great deal of sense if he was a soldier like refering to bury my guns in the ground saying they are useles to him now what will he be doin with them in heaven and badges im not sure wat they mean but maybe medals

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TNT_MAN
01-24-2007

Rated 0 
TO elliott_smith00 :
yep, and that's why they are one of the best selling bands ever. Nobody likes them and they suck big time, yep...now get that vibrator out of your ass, bloody TWAT

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TNT_MAN
01-24-2007

Rated 0 
TO elliott_smith00 :
yep, and that's why they are one of the best selling bands ever. Nobody likes them and they suck big time, yep...now get that vibrator out of your ass, bloody TWAT

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TNT_MAN
01-24-2007

Rated 0 
No offence but some people are just morons. It is crystal cleat that this song is about the death of a soldier, I even dare to say that is an anti-war song.

"Mama take my BADGE from me I can't use it any more"

"mama put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them any more"

Does it say mama put my needles on the ground or put my fucking weed on the ground? NO....CLOTS!!

It's about a soldier dying, probably while fighting in a war

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