[Intro] [Low, grimy bass. Vinyl crackle. Distant traffic. A dog barks. Three slow knocks.] [whispered] Three knocks. Two knocks. Never answer four. [Young Deez] Why? [Ernie] Because then they know you're nervous. *knock* *knock* *knock* [Young Deez, spoken] That's when I learned the first rule. Around here... you don't open the door until you know who's knocking. [Verse 1] Three knocks on the door, two knocks back, Little secret handshake in the hallway black. Ernie taught me young: “Don't give 'em a clue, If they don't know the knock, they don't know you.” Hallway light buzzin', elevator slow, Somebody yelling, “WHO'S GOT MY COOKIE DOUGH?” Oscar downstairs screaming from inside his can, “GET OFF MY TRASH!” like he's running the land. I looked through the peephole. Nobody there. Then three little knocks. *three knocks* I froze in my chair. [Chorus] Three knocks on the door, Don't say your name. Three knocks on the door, Everybody knows the game. Who you with? What you want? What's that package? Who's that knock? pray they know the code. [Verse 2] Cookie Monster had a problem down on four, Somebody said he owed cookies to the guy next door. [Cookie Monster, distant] Me no owe cookies! [Voice] You owe twelve! [Cookie Monster] Me owe eleven! [Young Deez] That's when I knew things were serious. He had crumbs on his shirt, crumbs on his bed, Crumbs in his pockets, crumbs on his head. He said, “Me pay you Tuesday.” I said, “What day is it?” He said, “Tuesday.” [Beat.] I didn't ask again. [Chorus] Three knocks on the door, Don't say your name. Three knocks on the door, Everybody knows the game. Who you with? What you want? What's that package? Who's that knock? pray they know the code. [Verse 3] Then Grover moved in. Or maybe he moved out. Nobody knew exactly what apartment he was about. Some said two-oh-three, some said three-oh-four, one guy swore Grover lived across the street on the fourth floor. I asked Grover. He said, “Oh, yes! I live here!” [Young Deez] Here where? [Grover] My apartment. [Young Deez] Which one? [Grover] The blue one. [Young Deez] They're all blue. [Grover] Oh. [Beat.] “Then I live everywhere!” [Young Deez, spoken] That's when I stopped trusting Grover. [Verse 4] One night, three knocks came just after ten, I grabbed my shoes and checked the window again. Three knocks. Two knocks back. Silence. Then a voice from the hall: [Voice] It's me. [Young Deez] Who? [Voice] You know. [Young Deez] I don't know. [Voice] Come on. [Young Deez] Say your name. [Long pause.] [Voice] ...Grover? [Young Deez] Which apartment? [Voice] Oh, dear. [Beat drops.] [Chorus] Three knocks on the door, Don't say your name. Three knocks on the door, Everybody knows the game. Who you with? What you want? What's that package? Who's that knock? Three knocks on the door— [Beat.] —and pray they know the code. [Bridge] Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was kids. Maybe Oscar was just angry like Oscar always is. Maybe Cookie owed some cookies. Maybe Grover lost his floor. Maybe Ernie made a secret knock for reasons I ignored. But when the hallway went quiet, and the lights went low, I heard three knocks again. *three knocks* And I knew somebody knew. [Final Verse] I walked to the door, put my eye to the glass. Saw a little blue hand and a big blue mass. *three knocks* [Bass drops out.] [Young Deez, spoken] Three knocks. That's all you needed to know. [SQUEAK / vinyl crackle.]
