"Standing in the Doorway" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, recorded in January 1997 and released in September that year as the third track on his album Time Out of Mind. The song was produced by Daniel Lanois. Composition and recording "Standing in the Doorway" is a slow-tempo love ballad that has been cited by some critics as one of the highlights of Time Out of Mind. Producer Daniel Lanois suggested to Dylan that they "steal" the feel of Dylan's 1966 recording of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for their arrangement. In the book Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon call the song "languorous and ethereal", noting that it's "amazing" that the band for this session, which consisted of a dozen musicians (including two drummers), "does not overload the interpretation". The song is performed in the key of E major. Critical reception Writing in Stylus Magazine, critic Ian Mathers describes the song as one in which the narrator laments "at great length the death of his happiness" to the musical accompaniment of a "sweet pedal steel and a churchly organ". Mathers also notes that Dylan "uses the length of the song to slowly work it in, deepening the impact with each verse. It's a gorgeous sounding song, gentle in its sound but never soft, and it's hard not to feel for the singer. He's been denying the hurt for as long as he can, but when it busts down the door it's stronger than ever". Dylan scholar Tony Attwood writes that "Nowhere has lost love been portrayed so exquisitely", and claims that "If Dylan had written nothing else, he would be worthy of a place in the hall of fame" for this song alone. Spectrum Culture included the song on a list of "Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '90s". The Big Issue placed it at #29 on a 2021 list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits" and called it "Haunting. Pretty hopeless. Only for those suffering like a fool...". Stereogum ran an article to coincide with Dylan's 80th birthday on May 24, 2021 in which 80 musicians were asked to name their favorite Dylan song. Ryley Walker selected "Standing in the Doorway", noting that it "isn’t just a mood — it’s cyclical lucid dream