Stop Knockin' [Tommy Shaw]

Stop Knockin'
Written by Tommy Shaw, Gerry Goffin, Barry Golfberg
Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw

Busted and broke
And I'm too old to toke
I'd pay somebody money
If they told me a joke

Don't let my dreams
Go up in smoke
Don't want to stare
At the man who wears a cloak

'Cause I'm on the inside
Watching as the world goes by
And I'm trying to make it
If you'd only let me try

Every time I'm standing
You make me fall
Every time I'm running
You make me crawl
Every time you push me
You make me stall
You know you've got to stop
Knocking my heart against the wall

I always gotta stare
Right in your eyes
Lookin' for the truth
But you keep on telling me lies

It's too late to get crazy
Too late for alibis
You look me through the reasons
Until I got wise

I never leave you
Just keep comin' back for more
Why must you keep me
With my feet dragging on the floor

Every time I'm standing
You make me fall
Every time I'm running
You make me crawl
Every time you push me
You make me stall
You know you've got to stop
Knocking my heart against the wall

I don't remember
Where we went wrong
Somebody tell me
And say we still belong

Interpretation

Here it is, in Tommy's own words (from a 1998 interview with Midwestern Skies):

"Stop Knockin'" I wrote together with Gerry Goffin and Barry Goldberg and you can say this is part of a self experienced track.

When a relationship falls apart, you feel like the other person is doing everything they can to make your life difficult. You still hold loving feelings, so it hurts even more.