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