Lyrics to
No Knock

This version of No Knock was released by Gil Scott-Heron in 1972.

Our About Gil Scott-Heron page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for No Knock from 1972 as well as all of the other lyrics from Gil Scott-Heron that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Gil Scott-Heron or about the 1970s in general.

You explained it to me I must admit
But just for the record you were talkin’ shit
Y’all rap about no knock bein’ legislated
For the people you’ve always hated
In this hell hole you, we, call home

No knock, the man will say
To keep that man from beating his wife
No knock, the man will say
To protect people from themselves

No knockin’, head-rockin’, inter-shockin’
Shootin’, cussin’, killin’, cryin’, lyin’
And bein’ white
No knock

No knocked on my brother Fred Hampton
Bullet holes all over the place
No knocked on my brother Michael Harris
And jammed a shotgun against his skull

For my protection?
Who’s gonna protect me from you?
The likes of you?
The nerve of you?
Your tomato face deadpan
Your dead hands ending another freedom fan

No knockin’, head rockin’, inter-shockin’
Shootin’, cussin’, killin’, cryin’, lyin’
And bein’ white

But if you’re wise, no knocker
You’ll tell your no-knockin’ lackeys
Ha!
No knock on my brother’s head
No knock on my sister’s head
No knock on my brother’s head
No knock on my sister’s head

And double lock your door
Because soon someone may be no-knockin’
Ha, ha!
For you

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Gil Scott-Heron has released many songs over the years besides No Knock. Gil Scott-Heron released songs from 1970 to 2005 spanning across albums like Small Talk At 125th And Lenox, Pieces Of A Man, Free Will, Winter In America, The First Minute Of A New Day, It's Your World, From South Africa To South Carolina, Bridges, Secrets, The Mind Of Gil Scott-Heron, 1980, Real Eyes, Reflections, Moving Target, Spirits, and Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - Messages (Anthology). Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Gil Scott-Heron.

If you're a fan of the music of the 1970s looking for more songs from 1972 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and No Knock by Gil Scott-Heron

The lyrics to No Knock are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Gil Scott-Heron used when the song was created in 1972. The lyrics to No Knock have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Gil Scott-Heron and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to No Knock by Gil Scott-Heron. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to No Knock" means the words set to the music of No Knock, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Gil Scott-Heron. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to No Knock and the lyrics to No Knock are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Gil Scott-Heron who came here looking just for the lyrics to No Knock, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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