This seems to be a fairly common request here. And we always get the same few verses. It has been claimed that Bob Dylan used a dozen different verses in various live performances. Many other groups have also sung the song.

So I'm going to start off with a few verses. Links are nice, but I want the verses here please.


Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a Bob Dylan song from 1973.

The official Dylan lyric sheet has two verses:

Mama, take this badge off of me
I can't use it anymore
It's getting dark, too dark for me to see
I feel like I'm 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 long black cloud is comin' down
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door...

Dylan sings a third verse live:

Mama, wipe the blood from my face
I can't see through it anymore
It's a feeling that I just can't trace
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door...

Indigo Girls do the following third verse:

Mama, wipe this blood from my face
I can't see through the walls
Six white horses coming to carry me away
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door...

Then there is this verse sung by Michelle Malone (it breaks both the
meter and the rhyme scheme - ABBB in favor of ABAB).

Mama, take these chains off of me
'Cause I don't want them anymore
They're getting too damn heavy, I'm crawling across the floor
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door...

OK, guys, let 'er rip!

And after we have got most of the serious ones, maybe Mr Thread Creep will provide a few new ones.... :-)

.. and perhaps a few attributions wold be nice - unless you are ashamed of writing them.... :-)

Robin