Knockin' On Heavens Door

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Title: Knockin' On Heaven's Door On Album: Use Your Illusion II Also Included On: "Greatest Hits", "Live Era '87-'93", "Live From The Jungle EP", "Use Your Illusion", "Knockin' On Heavens Door" [Single], "Welcome To The Jungle" [Single], "Nightrain" [Single], "Yesterdays" [Single] Running Time: 5:34 Produced by: Mike Clink & Guns N' Roses Engineered by: Mike Clink Mixed by: Bill Price Audio: N/A Single: Yes Video: No		Drums: Matt Bass: Duff Lead and Rhythm Guitar: Slash Rhythm Guitar: Izzy Vocals, Piano: Axl Background Vocals: Axl, The Waters Written by: "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was written by Bob Dylan Written in: "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was written in or before 1973. Additional information: GnR has appereantly re-recorded different versions of this song. The song was featured in the movie "Days Of Thunder".

Lyrics
Mama take this badge from me I can't use it anymore It's getting dark too dark to see Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Mama put my guns in the ground I can't shoot them anymore That cold black cloud is comin' down Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door	Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-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" Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door [repeated]
Live Performances
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was a regular in the setlist both on the "Appetite For Destruction" tour and the "Use Your Illusion" tour. The version performed has changed on every tour. Notable Performances: June 19, 1987 - London, England - The first known performance of the song. January 31, 1988 - New York, NY - Acoustic performance. April 20, 1992 - London, England - Performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute. February 23, 1993 - Austin, TX - First acoustic performance on the Skin & Bones tour. May 30, 1993 - London, England - Performance with Mike Monroe. July 13, 1993 - Paris, France - Performance with Brian May. January 15, 2001 - Rio de Janeiro - Stripped down version of the song. Something similar was performed in 2002.
In Their Own Words
Slash: We had a punk rock version first. Axl: There are times when everybody comes together, like in singing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." That's one reason we do the song: It's for people.¹ Slash: We used to sing 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'; that's dedicated to my best friend Todd, who died in a hotel room in New York a while back. Axl: This song is a timeless song... Slash: It's one of those songs, that Axl and I have always loved. Axl: There's stuff like "Heaven's Door" and "Civil War" and the song "Yesterdays" and a song called "Breakdown", that definitely have a bit of a southern rock feel. I'd say "Paradise City" like in the chorus has that, and "Sweet Child" kinda has that. Slash: There's two solo sections on that song. I'd been playing those solos off-the-cuff since we started playing that song. But when we went in the studio to do it, I played it completely differently than I've ever played it. I did this whole melody off the top of my head. I did one solo one day, and then the next solo the next day, and they're both one take.² Slash: The outro solo on "Heaven's Door," I did the first day after I came up with the melody for the first solo. I did the second one and Mike Clink wasn't really happy with it. I thought it was fine. I took it home and listened to it. The next morning, on my way somewhere, I stopped by the studio and just pulled it off one more time and did it way better.³ Slash: The first recording with Matt [Sorum] was "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" for the "Days of Thunder" soundtrack (which also ended up on the Illusions albums). I remember doing the solo for it on my way somewhere and I used a '58 Gibson Explorer. It was an amazing take, I just ran in there with my girlfriend and some friends in a tow, picked up the guitar, and really let the solo sing: I turned the tone down on the bass pickup, I locked it and let it scream.⁴ Slash: The only time that we brought in outside musicians on those two records were the gospel singers on "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and the harmonica on "Bad Obsession".⁵