Part of the beauty of Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" is its facility. An hour after picking up a guitar for the first time you can play this song, with its unending G-D-C, G-D-Am chord progression. Aesthetically, Rachel Rabin's (aka RAIGN's) cover may be the most stunning.
"Who knows what words mean better than the one who spoke them?"
"Authorial intent is to art what creationism is to science."
"Art is the property of the producer and province of the public."
Songwriter Kris Kristofferson.
Obviously, some people put great stock in the singer's original meaning. Others? Not so much. The former speak of interpretation (i.e. knowing or trying to discern the writer's viewpoint), the latter about applications or "personal spins". To wit, some artists have associated various motifs, moods or contexts with "Knocking on Heaven's Door", including romance and adventure (Bellamy & Clarke), emo and fatalism (Nazareth), poverty and violence (Wyclef Jean) narration (Roger Waters), child soldiers (Avril Lavigne), introspection (Sons of Anarchy, Antony and the Johnsons), light musing (Eric Clapton), energy or stances (Guns N' Roses), mortality and morality (Bruce Springsteen), and religion (U2). These slants are accepted much more readily by those who don't know the tune's provenance than by those who do. Nevertheless, the song succeeded not despite these varying views but because of them.
Songwriter and actress Rita Coolidge.
The song came from the 1973 movie, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid". Its original theme was not about fighting an enemy. The truth of the matter was quite the opposite, and far more poignant. "Knocking on Heaven's Door" plays after Pat Garrett kills a number of ex-companions, and later when Billy has to gun down his lawman step-father. In a world of shifting roles, the violence is against those we have loved. It wasn't about all war; it was about small-c civil war. Were we to draw analogies to politics, "Knocking on Heaven's Door" would be more about primaries than general elections. It would remind us that Republicans remain our neighbors and compatriots.
Mama take this badge from me 'Cause I can't use it anymore It's getting dark, too dark to see Feels like I'm knocking on heaven's door
Chorus: Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
Mama put those guns to the ground 'Cause I can't shoot them anymore That cold black cloud is comin' down Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door Additional Verse: Mama, wipe the blood from my face I'm sick and tired of the war Got a lonely hard feeling and it's hard to trace I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.
If you are a fan of contemporary guitar there are two names you already know: session player Lenny Breau (1941-1984), the Segovia of the genre, and songwriter John Coburn Stewart (1939-2008). Do not confuse the latter with Rod Stewart, who, as the Ted Williams of music, never wrote a bad song in his life. John Stewart was the Babe Ruth of the industry, specializing in home runs while leading the league in strikeouts. We overlook cacophanies like "Bellyful of Tennessee" or "Hero From the War" that can make a listener envy the deaf, we recognize some of the hits he wrote, co-wrote or arranged: "Tom Dooley" (as a replacement for Dave Guard with the Kingston Trio), "Daydream Believer" (for the Monkees) and "Gold". Without question, though, his masterpieces remain unrecognized by the public.
Some may be familiar with "Survivors", used in Hillary Clinton's campaign for universal health care in the early 1990s.
Children in Cheyenne Are taught in their schools: Believe in the country Don't break any rules But the T.V. is on and they Know something's wrong Someone must tell them To keep pushing on
At the five minute mark of "John Stewart Memorial" a retired, enervated reminisces about the country's last whistlestop campaign with Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, days before the assassination. A number of John's songs commemorate the loss of the Kennedy's.
It was more than Indiana, it was more than South Dakota It was more than California, it was more than Oregon It was a race against time, it was always on our minds And he died on the road
And if three Wishes came into my life I'd say one Was to gaze into your eyes And I'd say two Would be turning back our lives And three's a long way to go For that kind of wind to blow A long time ago We were dreamers on the rise
Inside and outside the realm of political writing, John Stewart remains among the most eclectic, prolific and proficient songwriters of the 20th Century. He's not quite the lyricist that Cohen was (no one is), the composer that Cat Stevens remains, the performer that Peter Gabriel can be or the prosodist that John Prine is, but it is difficult to imagine a better quadruple threat in the last half century. His influence on the music world is incalculable. For example, Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame learned to play guitar from listening to John Stewart albums.
"The Last Hurrah" serves as both an elegy for John's friend, Bobby Kennedy, but as Stewart's own biography. In Memphis, Tennessee, he was forsaken by sponsors who chose to promote his buddies, Kris Kristofferson, instead. In Los Angeles his prospects were dashed by record producers who, contrary to expectations, viewed John's Democratic politics with antipathy. This parallelism makes these lyrics all the more remarkable.
Lyrics:
Clear the tracks, the song's been taken This may be the last hurrah In Tennessee they were forsaken L.A. was the coup de grace
Clean your guns, the battle's over They belong now to the wind The saddest words I've ever spoken Were the words "It might have been"
And it's all right, it's only music It is singing in the stars Keep your dreams as clean as silver This may be the last hurrah
Loyal friends and front row dancers Hitch you wagon to a star A chilly wind blew cold this morning This may be the last hurrah
And it's all right, it's only music It is singing in the stars Keep your dreams as clean as silver This may be the last hurrah This may be the last hurrah
