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Why it matters
His soundtrack for Sam Peckinpah's western is mostly instrumental, but it produced one of his most widely covered songs.
Dylan came to Sam Peckinpah's western through the screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer, and he ended up not only writing the score but acting in the film, as a quiet drifter named Alias who rides with Billy the Kid. The music was recorded in Mexico City, where the film was shot, and later in California, with musicians including Roger McGuinn, Jim Keltner and Booker T. Jones. Much of the album is instrumental: loose guitar figures, mournful harmonica and themes that repeat in different shades, made to sit beneath the action. The film was cut by its studio against Peckinpah's wishes, and the soundtrack drew mixed reviews at the time. But one short song, "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", written for a death scene, became a hit and went on to be recorded by Eric Clapton, Guns N' Roses and many more. It ranks among the most covered songs he has ever written.
Track list · 10 songs
A spare acoustic theme sets a lonesome frontier mood, circling slowly as if over open country.
the road · death
Its page ›A relaxed, slightly uneasy groove plays like music heard in a frontier saloon.
the road · freedom
Its page ›A ballad that follows the outlaw Billy as the law hunts him across the border country.
the road · death
Its page ›Gentle interlocking acoustic guitars play a quiet, homely tune, like evening music in a cowboy bunkhouse.
the road · time
Its page ›Wordless singing floats over a slow, gentle melody that moves like water drifting past.
time · the road
Its page ›Fiddle and banjo race along in a bright, rollicking old-time tune full of chase and fun.
freedom · the road
Its page ›A ballad that follows the outlaw Billy as the law hunts him across the border country.
the road · death
Its page ›A ballad that follows the outlaw Billy as the law hunts him across the border country.
the road · death
Its page ›
Where its songs lead
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