\"Knockin' on Heaven's Door\" is a song written and sung by Bob Dylan, for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single, it reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was covered by Guns 'n' Roses with big success. Other artists, who covered it were: Eric Clapton, Grateful Dead, Randy Crawford, Avril Lavigne, Warren Zevon and U2, just to mention a few.
The song describes the collapse of a deputy sheriff; dying from a bullet wound, he tells his wife \"Mama, take this badge off of me; I can't use it anymore.\" 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, Dylan has changed the lyrics
Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time
