Knockin' on Heaven's Door

by Bob Dylan • Lesson #88 • Jul 29, 2017

Video lesson

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 3 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the March 2024 code at Musicnotes checkout: H39W333H8J (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

This lesson shows you an easy way to play “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan. This is an absolutely classic song that only uses 4 chords (G, D, C, and A minor). I’ll teach you these chords, explain the strumming pattern, how to play the chords in the right order, and finally show you some flourish & fills you can add.

Video timestamps:

  • 0:00 Playthrough & Lesson Overview
  • 1:18 Chords needed
  • 3:50 Strumming pattern
  • 5:20 Chord progressions
  • 6:50 Adding flourish & fills

Lyrics w/ chords

INTRO
    G     D     Am    Am
    G     D     C     C         
                    ....play twice

VERSE
    G                 D                Am
    ...Mama, take this badge off of me
    G           D             C
    ...I can't use it anymore
    G                   D                 Am
    ...It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
    G             D                       C
    ...I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door

CHORUS
    G                D                      Am
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
    G                D                      C
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
    G                D                      Am
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
    G                D                      C
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

VERSE #2
    G             D                 Am
    ...Mama put my guns in the ground
    G          D                 C
    ...I can't shoot them anymore
    G                 D                  Am
    ...That cold black cloud is comin' down
    G               D                    C
    ...I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door

CHORUS
    G                D                      Am
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
    G                D                      C
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
    G                D                      Am
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
    G                D                      C
    ...Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

    [repeat chorus as desired, end]

Chords needed

The entire song uses these four chords. There are plenty of ways you could embellish and modify these chords, such as turning the A-minor to a Am7 (x02010) – which is what it sounds like Bob Dylan does. Obviously feel free to do that if you wish.

E ––––3–––––0–––––0–––––2–––––      –––0–––  –––3–––  –––3–––
B ––––0–––––1–––––1–––––3–––––      –––1–––  –––1–––  –––1–––
G ––––0–––––2–––––0–––––2–––––      –––0–––  –––0–––  –––0–––
D ––––0–––––2–––––2–––––0–––––      –––2–––  –––2–––  –––2–––
A ––––2–––––0–––––3–––––––––––      –––0–––  –––0–––  –––3–––
E ––––3–––––––––––––––––––––––      –––––––  –––––––  –––––––
      G     Am    C     D             Am7      Am7       C   

As I note in my video lesson, if you’re having trouble with the chord transitions, realize that for some of the transitions you’re keeping fingers on the same note. This makes changing much easier, since it is one less finger to move. For example:

E ––––3–––––2––––
B ––––3–––––3––––   <-- left ring finger plays 3rd fret for both chords
G ––––0–––––2––––
D ––––0–––––0––––
A ––––2––––––––––
E ––––3––––––––––
      G     D   

Chord progression

Repeat this for the entire song. Intro, verse, and chorus – they all use this basic progression. Remember, 4 counts per measure.

G               D               Am              Am
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
G               D               C               C
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Strumming pattern

The ideal strumming pattern you should strive to play is:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D       D   D U

If you’re having trouble with this, start simple. Begin with a single downstrum on the “1” count of each 4-count measure:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D       

When you can do that, add another down strum to the 3 count:

1   2   3   4  
D       D

After that, add yet another down strum on the 4 count:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D       D   D

And finally, when you can do what’s above reliably well enough, add a single upstrum on the “4 and” count:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D       D   D U

Repeat this pattern for the entire song. Though of course, should you wish, you could get creative and use any strumming pattern you like.

The Triple UpStrum

One final variation of the strumming pattern, to be used as you please – is as follows. The idea here is to play the same accented note (3rd fret of high-E string) for all three of the up-strums. I’ll often use this on the 4th measure and 8th measure, using normal strumming patterns for the other measures.

G                 D                 Am                Am7
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D       D   D U   D       D   D U   D       D   D U   D   D U   U   U

and/or:

G                 D                 C                 C
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +   1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D       D   D U   D       D   D U   D       D   D U   D   D U   U   U

Flourish and fills

Here’s a few simple ways to spice up the simple chord progression used in this song.

Walk down from C to G

At the end of every chorus, I often like to “walk down” from C to G, meaning I’ll play each individual bass note that connects to C to G. This sounds quite nice. Quite simply, you just need to play this. See my video lesson for reference.

E –––0–––––––––––––3––––
B –––1–––––––––––––3––––
G –––0–––––––––––––0––––
D –––2–––––––––––––0––––
A –––3–––3––2––0–––2––––
E –––––––––––––––––3––––
     C             G

Using your pinky on the high E-string

In the Bob Dylan version, as well as my video lesson, you can hear times when there’s the high-E string ringing nicely – it’s because of an added pinky on either the C or the Am chord. Listen along for context, but quite simply, here’s how you play it:

E –––3–––––3––––    <-- add your left pinky on this 3rd fret note
B –––1–––––1––––
G –––0–––––2––––
D –––2–––––2––––
A –––3–––––0––––
E ––––––––––––––
     C     Am

These are just two of many possible ways you can spice up the song, but I hope this helps get you started.

Good luck!

I hope this helps, and as always let me know if you have any questions.

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 212 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!

If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!


Recent Lessons

  • March 15, 2023

    Pink Floyd's "Breathe" - with Simpler Chords Included

    Learn to play through Pink Floyd's 1973 classic! I'll teach the chords they use, while also showing a handful of useful simplifications and riffs to make this work on a single acoustic guitar.

  • March 6, 2024

    Q&A: 8 Tips to Avoid Muting Strings

    If you're frustrated by muffled, muted, or buzzing strings when playing chords, you're not alone! Here's 8 tips to avoid this common issue.

  • March 1, 2024

    Blues Shuffle Riffs - Using Just 2 Strings!

    A step-by-step introduction to blues shuffle riffs in open position, which are an amazingly fun-to-play way to get that blues sound with just a few fingers.

  • February 16, 2024

    Soulful Lead Guitar with "America the Beautiful"

    Here's a few ways to approach playing melodic lead guitar over America is Beautiful - shown both on an acoustic and electric guitar. Lots of fun!

  • February 8, 2024

    Country Honk by The Rolling Stones

    Let's learn how to play The Stones' acoustic & countrified version of Honky Tonk Women — with all the riffs included!

  • January 31, 2024

    Beginner Blues - New Course Sneak Peek!

    Watch the first three videos of my upcoming course, Beginner Blues Guitar — where I'll teach youthe 12 bar blues, dominant 7th chords, and the shuffle (swing) rhythm.

  • January 23, 2024

    Strumming with Accented Notes

    A deep-dive into this must-know intermediate strumming technique, with step-by-step exercises to get up to speed! Featuring the Green Day song Time of Your Life.

  • January 13, 2024

    Lead Guitar Finger Placement – ft. La Sitiera (The Mavericks)

    Ever find yourself learning a riff, and not being sure which fingers to use? I'll give you a few tips in this video that'll help, no matter what you're playing!

  • January 9, 2024

    Hybrid Fingerstyle - First Steps!

    Let's look at combining percussive strumming with Travis-style fingerpicking melodies. I'll show 4-5 exercises & song examples to get you started.

  • January 6, 2024

    Streets of London by Ralph McTell

    Learn how to fingerpick Ralph McTell's 1969 folk classic! I also show you how to strum it, should you want something a bit easier.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

Browse All My Lessons

By lesson type

By technique

By musical genre

By decade

By musical key

By popular artist


← back to homepage