In 1970, Tony Orlando was a retired cover singer. He had two Top 40 hits in 1961 and another in the later half of the decade as the lead singer for the studio group Wind, but he had not had any further success for the rest of the decade. He stopped singing entirely, publishing music for Columbia Records instead.
Orlando discovered a song, "Candida," which he decided to pass on recording. After an insistence that he dub his voice over the male vocals in the original track, he had the single released on Bell Records as performed by "Dawn", so if the record did not succeed, he would not be known as the lead vocalist. The background singers were Sharon Greane, Jay Siegel, and Toni Wine, who co-wrote the song. After single hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Orlando decided to change career tracks.
While "Candida" climbed the record charts, Orlando discovered that there were six touring groups that called themselves "Dawn". As he assembled his new group, the name "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando" was chosen to be their new name.
He chose singers Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson to sing with him after he recorded "Knock Three Times" which hit #1 in early 1971. The group waited until 1973 for their next #1 single, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree." In terms of sales, this single was the most successful in the group's career.
The group's next single,"Say Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" (from their concept album Dawn's New Ragtime Follies) went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. CBS gave the group a television variety show in the summer of 1974, after The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour ended its run. The show was in the same vein as its predecessor, and became a Top 20 hit. It ran until December 1976.
With a new name ("Tony Orlando and Dawn") and a new record label (Elektra), the group continued their string of hit singles during the show's run hitting the Top 10 on the Hot 100 and/or Adult Contemporary Charts including "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" (a reworking of Jerry Butler's "He Will Break Your Heart") which went to #1. A remake of the Sam Cooke song "Cupid", was the group's last Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. "Sing" reached #7 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1977 and was the last Tony Orlando & Dawn single until 1991's "With Ev'ry Yellow Ribbon (That's Why We Tie 'Em)".
Orlando is still a popular appearance performer. Hopkins made a very successful acting career for herself in series like "Gimme a Break", "Family Matters", and "Half and Half". A DVD compilation from the variety series was released in 2005 along with the group's catalog of albums on CD. Tony Orlando & Dawn released "A Christmas Reunion" that same year.
Knock Three Times
Tony Orlando & Dawn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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
The lyrics of Tony Orlando & Dawn’s song Knock Three Times tell the story of a man who lives above a girl who dances alone every night. He can hear her music playing and can feel her body swaying. He confesses his love for her but admits that she doesn't even know him. He then tells her to knock three times on the ceiling if she wants him, indicating that he will come down to be with her. However, if she is not interested, she should knock twice on the pipe, indicating that she wants him to leave her alone.
The chorus of the song repeats this message, with the man telling the girl that if she wants to be with him, she should knock three times on the ceiling, and if she doesn't, she should knock twice on the pipe. He also says that if she wants to meet him, she should knock twice on the pipe in the hallway, but if she doesn’t want to meet him, she should knock twice on the pipe indicating that she won't show up.
The song is a catchy tune that captures the feelings of a man who is hopelessly in love with a girl, but doesn't know how to approach her or get her attention. It's a love story that many people can relate to, as it's often difficult to express your feelings for someone, especially if you don't know them well.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey girl what ya doin' down there
Asking what the girl is doing dancing alone every night below him
Dancin' alone every night while I live right above you
Observing that the girl is dancing alone while he lives upstairs, unaware of his feelings
I can hear your music playin'
Noticing that he can hear her music from above
I can feel your body swayin'
Suggesting he can imagine her dancing along to the music
One floor below me you don't even know me
Admitting that he is a stranger to her - she doesn't even know of his existence
I love you
Announcing his feelings for her
Oh my darling
Addressing her with an affectionate term
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Giving her an unconventional way to express her interest in him
Twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Informing her of another option to decline his advances
Oh my sweetness
Addressing her with another endearing term
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Explaining what a specific knock pattern means (that she'll meet him in the hallway)
Twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show
Clarifying that a different knock pattern means she's not interested
If you look out your window tonight
Asking her to look out the window to see a message he has prepared
Pull in the string with the note that's attached to my heart
Instructing her to retrieve a note from a string attached to his heart
Read how many times I saw you
Explaining that the note details how many times he observed her
How in my silence I adored you
Revealing how he secretly admired her without ever speaking to her
Only in my dreams did that wall between us come apart
Expressing how he wished for a chance to be with her, but they were separated by an invisible barrier
I can hear your music playin'
Repeating an earlier observation
I can feel your body swayin'
Reiterating his vision of her dancing
One floor below me you don't even know me
Restating that they have never interacted
I love you
Repeating his confession of love
Oh my darling
Once again, speaking to her endearingly
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Repeating his unconventional proposal
Twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Reminding her of the alternate signal for rejection
Oh my sweetness
Using one more term of endearment
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Reaffirming what a specific knock pattern means
Twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show
Repeating the signal for disinterest
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Irwin Levine, L. Russell Brown
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind