“Life? Don’t talk to me about life.” Marvin the Paranoid Android
This week, Jim wants us to highlight a song that makes us think about life. Hmmm.
It was Benjamin Franklin who famously said that the only certain things (in life, implicitly) were death and taxes. Neither of Franklin’s certainties are particularly pleasant to dwell on, but who wants to hear about taxes? Without being too morbid, this was the one for me. Not that I believe in heaven; or hell.
Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore
It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see
I feel 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 long black cloud is comin’ down
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door
Written by Bob Dylan
Song Lyric Sunday 22 September 2024
the only deadhead in the hameau 
After a certain age, every knock at your own door sounds like the Reaper. That’s why I play the music loud.
Dylan wrote this song for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. This song is splendidly simple, featuring just two short verses, and the lyrics work directly with the scene in the film where a badge and guns really are a badge and guns, but somehow this song transcends the literal meaning, as if you listen, you may be able to pick up a much deeper, profound significance.
Such an iconic song