# Warren Zevon - Knocking on Heaven's Door **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728 "2003-07-11T15:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/1 "2003-07-11T15:35:08Z")
Anybody heard this yet? Do you think it’s tacky, or befitting of Warren’s bizarre humor? Personally I think it’s kinda cool. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/2 "2003-07-11T16:21:31Z")
For most people - tacky For Warren Zevon - classic ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/3 "2003-07-11T16:34:05Z")
Given that Warren Zevon has terminal cancer, perfect. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/4 "2003-07-11T17:07:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*Given that Warren Zevon has terminal cancer, perfect. \*\* Yeah, that’s what I was refering to. I guess in case people aren’t familiar with the story, as **gobear** stated, Warren Zevon was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year. He’s been rather public about it with a major appearance on Letterman, a new album on the way, and an upcoming VH1 show documenting most of it. His new album is coming out next month, and I just heard a pre-release of Zevon covering “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” I was curious if anyone had an opinion on this choice of covers…cool, or tacky? ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/5 "2003-07-11T17:33:01Z")
I love WZ. Every Halloween, “Werewolves of London” can be heard from my house. Repeatedly. I didn’t know he had cancer. Terminal cancer, by definition, sucks, but I guess having the time to get your sh\*t together before you die makes it a bit easier. I’m glad he seems to be dealing with his future in a healthy? way. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/6 "2003-07-11T18:02:14Z")
Perfect title, but I thought he was in Mombassa, in a bar room drinking gin. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/7 "2003-07-11T18:45:55Z")
WZ can do no wrong in my book. The Letterman episode was pretty cool; he was the only guest that night, and talked pretty candidly about his condition. I don’t know if Letterman’s ever dedicated an entire show to only one guest other than WZ. Such a funny, decent, bright, talented guy. Such is life. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/8 "2003-07-11T19:00:26Z")
Covering ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ is perfect for Zevon, who has been kicking death in the ass for 30 years now. You want real Irony, listen to “Life’ll Kill Ya”, which has songs like this: Well I went to the doctor, I was feeling pretty rough, Let me break it to you son, You’re shit’s fucked up. I said, “My shit’s fucked up?” “Well I don’t see how,” He said, “The shit that used to work”, “Don’t work now.” Hey, hey, my shit’s fucked up, It has to happen to the best of us, Rich folks suffer like the rest of us, It’ll happen to you. Written before he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/9 "2003-07-11T19:40:11Z")
The world will be poorer when Warren Zevon is gone. He has tackled death with humor over and over again in his music. I was just wondering about him myself. And for the record ‘Excitable Boy’ just may be the most morbid song ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Eilsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@Eilsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eilsel)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/10 "2003-07-12T00:25:56Z")
My former boss’ son is a friend of WZ, sometimes WZ is around and playing at the Stone Pony in Asbury, which is not far from here. Anything WZ does is a classic… ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/11 "2003-07-12T00:37:22Z")
Given the recent RIP celebrity thread titles, I thought the OP was going to deliver the bad news itself…Glad it didn’t have to yet. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/12 "2003-07-12T02:18:37Z")
That’s what I thought, too. I guess it’ll have to happen one of these days, but I dread seeing that thread title. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/13 "2003-07-12T03:24:27Z")
I think there’s a thread around here that stated that Warren wanted to live long enough to see the James Bond movie **The World is Not Enough**. I hope he passes easily. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/14 "2003-07-12T06:14:38Z")
I remember the news interview where WZ wanted to live long enough to see the “new James Bond movie” (he was referring to “Die Another Day”). Well, he made it by a mile, and is still kicking. Not to give him more shit than he is already dealing with, but he might have been overstating the direness of his prognosis… I mean, he’s still around! And that’s a good thing, of course…Timmy ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/15 "2003-07-12T06:24:01Z")
How long ago was Warren Zevon on Letterman?? I seem to recall it’s been at least a year or two. And he’s still alive? That’s amazing. I’m not a Zevon fan at all, but I’d assumed that he’d passed on a few months later and I just hadn’t heard about it. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/16 "2003-07-12T06:39:53Z")
No, he was diagnosed with cancer last August. He was on Letterman in September or October. He was hoping to make it until the Bond movie, which I think came out around December. The last six months are a gift. He has inoperable cancer of the lungs and liver. But the thing about cancers is that you can’t exactly predict how fast and where they are going to grow. Rare individuals even go into spontaneous remission. So it’s a bit of a guess. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/17 "2003-07-12T06:55:29Z")
I caughtt the Letterman episode. Warren’s been in my prayers ever since. Miracles can come true. It can happen to you. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/18 "2003-07-12T13:59:04Z")
… if you’re young at heart. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/19 "2003-07-12T14:12:27Z")
Warren Zevon is currently benefiting from the most effective life sustaining technology known to man: I picked him in Celebrity Deathpool. Starting next year, I plan on picking people who are already dead and seeing if I can bring them back to life. ---
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728/20 "2003-07-12T15:58:51Z")
koee; I thought he was high in Eagle Rock. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warren-zevon-knocking-on-heavens-door/187728.md?page=2)