Shabib Alzuabi Miss Kerri Bennett ENG 1003-001 Comp. I Sunday, April 9, 2017 Knocking on Heaven’s Doors Robert Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan, was the most recent honoree of the Nobel Laureate Committee. In 2016, he was awarded the highest recognition to the written word: the Nobel Award for Literature. The Swedish Academy praised Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” (“The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016", 2016) He was the first songwriter to have been awarded such recognition. Though there was a lot of debate regarding the award, the lyrical genius that is found in Dylan’s song was never in dispute. “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” through its many adaptations, has become one of the most popular songs in the collective imaginary. Even so, it is rarely attributed to Dylan himself. The song, written and composed to be a part of the soundtrack for the film “Pat Garrett and Billy, the Kid,” is an original of Dylan’s. Having been written to fit the movie, the song fits perfectly with one particular scene. The film, which features a dying police officer, required a poetic and dramatic song to go along with the thoughts of the sheriff as he contemplated his death. Dylan then penned the words: “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 knocking on heaven’s door” (Dylan, 1-4). Just in the opening lines, Dylan paints a heartbreaking picture: a man, on the verge of death, feels the badge on his chest become heavier and heavier. It becomes especially compelling when we consider how important the police badge is to a police officer. Like their uniform, the badges have become part of what identifies them as police officers. They are the first thing that a police officer presents to someone upon first meeting. Their badges become a part of their police identity, and the police officer’s character often overtakes the person’s individuality. As it happens in other fields, a person’s career can become an important aspect of how they see themselves. To be willing to renounce to a part of his identity, the sheriff’s agony is made visible. Likewise, as the song follows in the second stanza, “Mama, put my guns on 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/” (Dylan, 12-16), the police officer keeps on disposing of the objects he is carrying. Weapons, like the badges, are an important item in the line of work. However, they are not as universally utilized as the other items for the sake of identification. In this scene, the sheriff is still agonizing, and the dismissal of his weapons shows his desire give up fighting. Like a tired soldier coming home from war, the sheriff can no longer seek a solution to his problem with the gun he is carrying. Meant for self-defense, his weapon can no longer protect his life from the next possibility of death. The recurrent calling for his mother exposes the sheriff’s vulnerability. A maternal figure is meant to be comforting and reassuring, which are the two things he is need of most at that moment. The sheriff is aware of the situation in which he is in and seeing no solution to it, all he can require is a comfort. He is calling for his mother to help him through the transition between life and death, to make it more comfortable; perhaps faster and painless. Though, most importantly, what the sheriff is calling out for is the simple company. It has long been part of common thought that it is not pleasant to pass away in loneliness. The sheriff’s situation is, all around, heartbreaking. It is possible to examine the song from a perspective outside of the context of the movie. The beauty of Dylan’s lyrics is that they can be interpreted in different ways, each as profound and valid as the next. While the words directly relate to a lawenforcement agent in poetic creation, the real relationships that exist between objects and people are not the only ones that can be explored. The tools that we think serve only a practical purpose can become symbolic expressions of deeper meanings and objectives. If we extrapolate the song to fit any other instance, what else could come to mind? For example, there was a small modification made to the song in response to a tragedy. In 1996, Ted Christopher was given permission by Dylan to adapt the song to include lines that made reference to the Dunblane school shooting, "SCOTLAND | Dunblane mothers join the anti-gun march." (2010). The modified version included the lines: “Lord, these guns have caused too much pain. This town will never be the same / So for the bairns of Dunblane / We ask please never again./” (Christopher, 12-16). The Dunblane school shooting left at least 16 dead and others wounded. This event marked the bloodiest mass shooting in the history of Scotland. Even though this game is much different from the one for which the song was written, one could argue that violence serves as a commonality between both, the song can still perfectly adapt to it. In the same manner, the song can take several other interpretations. Without any context, one could say that there is the presentation of death as an immediate, inescapable force. Like the sheriff in the song, who could not use his tools to defend himself from the Eternal Footman, there is not a single one of us who will be able to escape the grasps of death. Inevitability, resignation and the abandonment of life can all be taken from a single, decontextualized hearing of the song. Though the lyrics of the songs are an example of Dylan’s genius, his mastery in songwriting is not defined exclusively by it. In regards to the music, the chorus, “with the repeated “Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door” line doesn’t have a current resolution regarding its chords… Now in musical terms, neither of those endings (V-II7 and V-IV) are “acceptable” as resolutions to the line of music. What they do is leave the music hanging, they don’t resolve the music at all. The listener is left on a cliff, almost toppling over the edge, or maybe just stepping back to safety, but never quite sure which.” (Attwood, 2013). The inclusion of this technique allows the song to maintain its dramatic momentum throughout the duration of the song. It also fits perfectly with the musical progression of the song, with each ‘knock,' the narrator comes one step closer to death. With each beat, the chances of the doors opening only increase. Neither the audience nor the narrator knows when to expect in the deciding moment. With every repetition of the chorus, the song presses us to choose between the urging the desire to reach out towards the gods’ lair or the justifiable desire to repudiate them for abandoning it us at such a critical moment. As the narrator insists on his knocking and the chorus swells in its progression, the resolution feels imminent. Though it never reaches us, it never stops feeling as if it will. Together, the music and the lyrics come together to form one of the great Americans classics; a song so universal, it can be recognized in almost any part of the world. Fame and critical recognition are not the only merits it holds, though. With its use of poetic imagery throughout the text and the masterful arrangement of the music, the song is capable of moving anyone to the core. The emotions it packs can only help but remind the listener of the tragic beauty of life, all of life, including that which we call ours. At this point, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” has become a hymn for humanity. Works Cited: Atwood, Tony. "Knocking on heaven’s door." Untold Dylan. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2017. Dylan, Bob. By Bob Dylan. Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Gordon Carroll, 1973. Web. 3 Apr. 2017. Christopher, Ted. By Bob Dylan. Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Ted Christopher. 1996. Web. 3 Apr. 2017. "SCOTLAND | Dunblane mothers join anti-gun march." BBC News. BBC, 14 May 2000. Web. 04 Apr. 2017. “The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 3 Apr 2017. 
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