Knock on Wood lyrics

Knock on Wood was written, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Greg Goldman at Cedar Studios, St. Louis, Missouri.

Cover photo by Jeremy Bishop, care of Unsplash.

Special thanks to Liz Davis Goldman, Charlie Campbell, Sarah Davis, Michael Stein, Julie Goldman, Sammy Goldman, Teddy Goldman, and Ben Smith.

© Copyright 2023 Greg Goldman

Count Me Out

Say hello

Give this all some room to play out

Leave a way out

You know you can come on strong

And as it goes

As you're wont to do you just say it

Overplay it

Tellin' them how they're wrong

Count me out

Pick another place to go

Count me out

I think you better take it slow

You take it farther 

And make it harder

One-star show

You punch down low with all your invective

Not effective

Maybe you've lost your way

But when we go

You expect the world to all still be there

With no changes

Like it's just another typical day

Count me out 

I think I need to take some time

Count me out

If you're just gonna nickel and dime

It's time to bail out

And let you flail about

Call when you've come back to the table

Call when you're not stuck in a fable

It's done

Call when you've come back to the table

Call when you're not living some fable

It's done

And I'm done

Count me out

Pick another place and go

Count me out

I think you better take it slow

You took it farther

And made it harder

Throwback

I admit I never thought you'd say it

But it sounds like you might almost agree

Well, since we're being honest,

Can we talk about it for real?

In this moment can't you almost see it?

But it proves too much for you

The levee cracks and anger breaks through

And you feel you can't say anymore

And in the aftermath, the strangest feeling

Almost like it all just melts away

And the clouds have parted

To reveal who we both once were

Even though we know we cannot stay

Well, it's a throwback

Back to where we started

Wish we could go back

To when it all was easier

There wasn't blowback

From every interaction

No way to heal from a wound 

That's become a scar

The farther we have come the more I notice

How we've changed so much and yet not at all

I never took things easy

You never could indulge that side of me

Many times we've been more like opponents

But could it all be worth it?

Can we leave behind the heartbreak?

It's not as simple as you want it to be

Wake up, baby, we're almost home

The blinker keeps time like a metronome

Rub the sleep away, it was just a dream

And I'm locked away from that ambrosial scene

It was a throwback

Back to where we started

Can never go back

To when it all was easier

There's always blowback

From every interaction

No way to heal from a wound 

That's become a scar

Hope on the Rise

Here it stands incomplete 

Idle hands, aching feet

Yet it's harder to believe

That we'd harbor plans to leave

Hope on the rise 

It's a sham, it's deceit

Don't look to the skies 

It's the last thing we need

We talked it up, we agreed

And I thought it was a question of need

But it's harder to concede

You had chosen capriciously

Hope on the fall

It's a sham, it's a dream

Don't look to the sky

It's the last thing you need

(Follow the call)

And we're not getting out of this mess

(Follow your heart)

And we're not headed anywhere else

(Fall on your sword)

And it's hard enough to get through it all

Without dragging you along

Hope on the rise 

It's a sham, it's deceit

Don't look to the skies 

It's the last thing we need

Round Trip

Well, we all want love that is boundless

And we'll all lo ok up til we've found it

Even though all our hopes may be groundless

Well there's no such thing as perfect

And the search might not be worth it

It's a foolish idea on its surface

But we all want love that's unending

One that stands through every storm without bending

And we long for a heart that needs no mending

It's not hope, it's not illusion

It might be more like mass delusion

And there's no right conclusion

But we all must be more open-hearted

Cause we all end up where we started

Yes, we're all headed toward where we started

Hummingbird

You capped another day

Perched in my head

What would old Siggy say?

No coincidence

I like to think you're waiting

Until I'm ready

In truth I'm still debating

But that much you knew

You are the hope of more

Whether or not it's true

You told me in your own way

It ain't gonna be you

I know you can feel it

I know you can feel it

I wanna just say it

Is that my spot you're saving?

Is that my spot you saved?

I know you can feel it

You're right to conceal it

Maybe this time it would be right

Never know

Is that my spot you're saving?

Is that my spot you saved?

Transitive Property

Here is a song that's not about us

I'm sure you have good cause to doubt us

When something is so clearly wrong

We're not going to look away

They say they're trying to protect you

Their whole agenda's to reject you

We've reached a point of picking sides

No running from the fray

There is no point in using reason

When their kind supported treason

We can't afford to wait for time 

to show how wrong they are

Don't let it faze you

Just follow your vision

They can't erase you

Or change your decision

You are the future 

and we are behind you

Do what you need until 

happiness finds you

They think they found a way to stop you

They think providers will just drop you

I don't know why they think that we

Would take it laying down

And if you're feeling broken-hearted

Keep in mind we've barely started

And this is hardly your first time

Getting kicked around

Don't let it change you

Just stick to your vision

They can't erase you

It's your decision

You are the future

And we are behind you

Do what you need

And let happiness find you

Oh, it's your choice to make

Stoneface

About time you throw in the towel

Quite sure that'll earn me a scowl

Say what you want about dying

Make your pitch cause I'm not buying

So turn your face to stone

Top form in the rear view mirror

Not much closer than it appears

Good time to take a little breather

And don't blame it on her neither

You've got to face it alone

Part-time just might be plenty

If your style's to have that many

Don't try to tell me a story

If you're trying to make me worry

It makes no difference to me

You've got to own it

You can't continue to be

A crust of old bread

It's not the way it should be

You could be thriving

You don't believe you're shallow

But the ground you think of as hallowed?

Put down the middle finger

It don't make you some deep thinker

You've got to think for your own

You know what we want for you

Say it enough to bore you

Keep trying to say you don't need it

Why try when you don't heed it?

You've got that face of stone

It's not a trivial matter

To watch your whole life shatter

I've got to hand to you

You didn't drop it

And I'll continue to do

Some part to stop it

It could be fantasy

It could be nonsense

But you keep handing to me

Outdated concepts

Meteor

The pointed finger

Another pointed back

The drafted story

The ready counter attack

Look in the faces of

The casualties

The next mass extinction

Can it get here please

But it's getting better

The numbers show

Global progress

Tell that to the reef

The suffering savior

Of a special breed

God in our image

It's just human greed

Oh, the hero's journey

The star of the show

Times 7 billion

We just got to go

It can't last forever

We're gonna find a way

To stop our global conquest

The cure's the disease

More and more consumed

Leave not an inch of room

Treat it like another deal

As though it's still not real

Keep telling that to the reef

It's inconvenient

Like almost every truth

Keep things consistent

Gun down a few more youths

Look in the faces of

The casualties

The meteor

Can it get here please

But it might get better

We can't just throw up our hands

We have a global conscience

Then the cure's the disease

The cure's the disease

We're the disease

Try

Why do you ask me

When it's clear I can't answer you now

Time isn't that way

It keeps weaving and bobbing around

But let's try to rehash it

Though we each have our doubts it can change

Some of the time we can catch it

Before it's running aground and in flames

So I hide in reactions

When it's clear I've got thoughts of my own

Try and be happy

Either way I block out something I know

No security blanket

I try to follow you home

But the peace of mind

You seemed to find

Is gone

But let's try to rehash it

Though we each have our doubts we can change

Once in a while we can snatch it

Before we've melted it down in the flames

But can we try

Should we try?

Shall we try?

Yeah, let's try

Trick of the Mind

You followed all of the signs up to now

And still you find yourself lost somehow

So did you play it all wrong?

Well everything you dreamed is real

And still you don't know how to feel 

There's gotta be something missing from it

You strive for happiness in your life

You do the best you can to survive

You've got your flaws of course, but

You try to be someone who's kind

You advocate for what is right

So why does it feel like none of it adds up?

Give me some purpose

I can't be the only one

Tell me there's something 

To these trivial trips ‘round the sun

Or is it just an illusion,

A trick of the mind?

You bought your home and your luxury car

You spend your days off working out in the yard

The kids are basically fine

So where are you to go from here?

What you gonna do with these forty-odd years?

What is the point once you've checked all the boxes?

Show me some meaning

I'm struggling to carry on

What is the purpose

of these trivial trips round the sun?

Well is it just an illusion,

A trick of the mind?

Best of Me

I prefer the fantasy

Where I'm just who I want to be

And I don't have to face the truth

Of hurting someone constantly

And when I'm in my element

It's like a holy sacrament

I'm everything I'm not at home

I cordon off my discontent

And you don't know

When it will all be torn asunder

They get the best of me

And you don't know

If it's lightning or just thunder

You deserve the best of me

I kind of had it figured out

Remember what we talked about 

Had to go and do it again

Some words I can only shout

Tell me what you want to say

We’ll live to fight another day

One can only do so much

I didn't want to go this way with you

And we don't know 

If there's lightning or just thunder

You never get the best of me

Here's where you go

Find something to hide under

Wishing for the best of me

This I know:

You give as much as I do

They get the best of you

And if I go

Another light could shine through

They'd get the best of you

After

When it's the end

I hope that I'm ready to be gone

Will that be all?

Will there be more?

And what have I done

With all of the time I've been given?

Will it live on?

Or just be a hole

Where I once was?

And what of this life?

What of my hopes and worries?

Did I belong?

Was I alone?

It hardly matters

Lose all this ground

I will lose all this ground

That I've gained

And I won't want it back

So where will you go?

It would be hard for you I know

Soldiering on

All by yourself

Try to be strong

Thankful for all we've been given

Do what you must

Be who you are

I don't know 

All that I've learned

All that I've worked and fought for

I'll pass it along

Put in a song

For no one to hear

Lose all this ground

I will lose all this ground

That I've gained

And I won't want it back