Born Graham Barnes in Nottingham England, Alvin Lee took up guitar at the age of thirteen. By the age of fifteen he had formed the group Jaybirds. Following in the footsteps of earlier beat groups such as the Beatles, the Jaybirds played the clubs in Hamburg, Germany to great local acclaim. On returning to London in 1966, the group changed its name to Ten Years After.
Ten Years After scored hits with many albums and became a popular touring band. The band gained note in America after their appearance at Woodstock in 1969.
Lee's guitar work on ‘I’m Going Home’ on the 'Woodstock' album and film remains a standard for many rock guitarists to emulate.
Ten Years After played a mix of rock and blues tinged with jazz. In 1973, Lee left Ten Years After to pursue a solo career.
His first work was a collaborative effort with American gospel singer Mylon LeFevre on an album entitled On The Road To Freedom; other artists on the album included George Harrison, Mick Fleetwood and Steve Winwood. A year later he formed the band Alvin Lee & Company and released a double live album recorded at the Rainbow in London, In Flight.
Lee continued to record albums and play live until his death in 2013, thrilling audiences with his guitar virtuoso and nimble fingered fret work.
Having recorded over twenty albums, some of the key solo works Alvin Lee has recorded are:
1973 On The Road To Feedom
1974 In Flight
1975 Pump Iron
1976 Let it Rock
1978 Rocket Fuel
1979 Ride On
1980 Freefall
1981 RX5
1986 Detroit Diesel
1992 Zoom
1994 I Hear You Rockin
1996 Live In Vienna
2004 In Tennessee
2007 Saguitar
2012 Still On The Road To freedom
Official Website: Alvin Lee
You can also see Alvin Lee & Ten Years After and / or Alvin Lee & Co and / or Ten Years After and or Alvin Lee & Ten Years Later and / or The Alvin Lee Band on Last.fm.
I Hear You Knockin'
Alvin Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And now you're knockin' on my door
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I begged you not to go, but you said goodbye
And now you tell me all your lies
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
You better get back to your use to be
'Cause your kind of love ain't good for me
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I told you way back in Fifty Two
That I would never go with you
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
The first stanza of Alvin Lee's "I Hear You Knocking" highlights the hurt and betrayal of being left behind by a loved one. The persona expresses that the person left a long time ago and is now returning to their life. The knocking on the door symbolizes the attempt of the person to re-enter the persona's life. The persona hears the knocking but is reluctant to open the door, indicating that they are not ready or willing to welcome the person back into their life. They ask the person to leave and go back to where they came from.
In the second stanza, the persona explains that they had told the person that they would never go with them. This line highlights that the persona had already predicted the eventual outcome of the relationship. The persona now affirms that the love of this person is not for them and that it would be best if they returned to their "use to be" (past lover).
Overall, the song communicates the pain and hurt of being left behind by a loved one and the difficulty in forgiving and moving on after such an experience. The persona has already made up their mind that they will not let the person who broke their heart back into their life.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away and left me long time ago
You left me a while ago and I moved on with my life
And now you're knockin' on my door
You're trying to come back into my life
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I can hear you trying to get my attention, but I won't let you back in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
You need to leave and go back to where you came from
I begged you not to go, but you said goodbye
I asked you to stay but you still left me
And now you tell me all your lies
Now that you're here, you're trying to manipulate me with your lies
You better get back to your use to be
You need to go back to your old ways and leave me alone
'Cause your kind of love ain't good for me
Your way of loving me is not healthy for me
I told you way back in Fifty Two
I told you a long time ago
That I would never go with you
That I would never be with you
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Pearl King, Dave Bartholomew
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind