Knock Three Times

Tony Orlando, The Lefty Brothers

About Knock Three Times

"Knock Three Times" is a popular song credited simply to "Dawn". Tony Orlando was not named on the record. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and Linda November, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson. The song was released as a single, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971 and eventually sold six million copies. The song registered well at Adult Contemporary stations, reaching #2 on Billboard's "Easy Listening" survey. Outside the US, "Knock Three Times" also claimed the number-one spot on the UK Singles Chart. The composers of this song, L. Russell Brown and Irwin Levine, were thinking of the song Up on the Roof and they wanted to write a song with that kind of lyrical flavor, about tenement living. In the song, the singer has fallen in love with a woman who lives in the apartment directly below him but has no clue as to her interest, so he asks her to respond by either knocking three times on the ceiling (yes) or banging twice on the pipe (no), and the chorus includes sound effects of the two choices. 


Year:
2015
2:03
61 
#3

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Hey girl what ya doin' down there
Dancin' alone every night while I live right above you
I can hear your music playin'
I can feel your body swayin'
One floor below me you don't even know me
I love you
Oh my darling
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Oh my sweetness
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show
If you look out your window tonight
Pull in the string with the note that's attached to my heart
Read how many times I saw you
How in my silence I adored you
Only in my dreams did that wall between us come apart
Oh my darling
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Oh my sweetness
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show
I can hear your music playin'
I can feel your body swayin'
One floor below me you don't even know me
I love you
Oh my darling
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Oh my sweetness
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show

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Tony Orlando

Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis (born April 3, 1944), better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. more »

1 fan

Written by: Irwin Levine, L. Russell Brown

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


11 facts about this song

Songwriting
"Knock Three Times" was written by the song-writing team of Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown.
Chart Success - Billy "Crash" Craddock
Billy "Crash" Craddock's version of "Knock Three Times" was released as a single in Australia in 1971, and it reached number one on the Australian singles chart.
Chart Success - Dawn and Tony Orlando
When Tony Orlando and Dawn recorded the song, it went on to become a number one hit in the United States, staying at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks in 1971.
Tony Orlando’s Career
After the success of "Knock Three Times", Tony Orlando became so popular that he decided to leave the world of record promoting, where he was very successful, to focus on his singing career.
Genre
"Knock Three Times" can be characterized as a pop song with elements of Latin music.
Cover Version
Billy "Crash" Craddock's cover of "Knock Three Times" was released on the 1971 album "Knock Three Times".
Award
"Knock Three Times" was awarded the Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) award for the best selling single of the year in 1971.
Cultural Impact
The song has been featured in several films and television shows, including Now and Then (1995), Super 8 (2011), and The Office (US version).
Lyrics Theme
The song is built around the idea of a man trying to get in touch with a woman who lives in the apartment above him by knocking on her ceiling three times.
Worldwide Success
Aside from hitting number one in the US, Tony Orlando and Dawn's version of "Knock Three Times" reached the top 10 in the UK and many other countries.
Song Sequel
Levine and Brown later wrote a sequel of sorts to "Knock Three Times", called "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose.” This song became another popular hit for Tony Orlando and Dawn.

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