Some years ago a group claimed that they detected deep messages in The Three Stooges short films. For those not familiar with these three intellectual geniuses, feel free to check out this 17-or-so-minute video as one example of the fare for which they were known: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXHVVXAcNYM
It got me thinking that perhaps, if one frames the argument sufficiently, a deep, philosophical message can be found almost anywhere. As I was pondering the possibility, Little Richard’s “Keep a-Knockin'” popped into my head. The entire libretto for this classic piece of rock and roll consists of the following:
You keep a-knockin’, but you can’t come in.
You keep a-knockin’, but you can’t come in.
You keep a-knockin’, but you can’t come in.
Come back tomorrow night and try again.
You said you loved me, but you can’t come in.
You said you loved me, but you can’t come in.
You said you loved me, but you can’t come in.
Come back tomorrow night and try again.
(Now, if that doesn’t grab you where it hurts, I don’t know what will.)
The question, though, is: Do these words hide some insightful, life-giving meaning? Is it worth philosophers’ time to delve into the depths of the songwriter Perry Bradford’s creative mind to find nuggets of wisdom worth keeping? Well, perhaps so. It all depends on how we approach it. Let’s give this a try:
If someone is knocking (on a door or other barrier), it implies that someone is on the other side. It can be accepted that that “other” is someone to whom the person knocking wishes to relate; in other words, a person of value and worth. The one on the outside arrives with a vibrant hope that, by knocking, s/he will gain entrance and, therefore, consummate the desired goal of fulfilling the relationship with someone s/he deems valuable.
How crushing it must be, therefore, when, having mustered enough courage to approach the door, the one knocking hears those devastating words, “You can’t come in.” Certainly, the hope that was brought to the occasion is damaged severely, if not totally decimated. To further the emotional damage, “You can’t come in” is followed by, “You said you loved me.” It becomes apparent that the one inside has made a conscientious decision to terminate the relationship based on some doubt that has arisen regarding the love that had been previously assumed.
Still, hope is renewed when s/he on the outside hears, “Come back tomorrow night and try again.” Yes! There remains the possibility that all can be redeemed, that there is a “picking up” point, that by being willing to try again, the one inside will understand how sincere the desire for entry truly is. Is coming back tomorrow night worth the risk? What happens if those cruel words, “You can’t come in,” answer the knocks? It becomes a question of sincerity of achieving the goal. The question remains unanswered because tomorrow night never arrives.
However, as deeply philosophical as this song may be, I see also a significant theological message here. I am reminded of what is commonly referred to as Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens (Matthew 25.1-13). In this story, ten virgins gather to await the arrival of a bridegroom. Five are considered wise because they have come fully prepared with filled oil lamps, while the other five virgins are considered foolish because their lamps run out of oil before the bridegroom arrives. Upon hearing that he is to show up within minutes, the foolish virgins are advised to run into town for more oil, which they do (mostly because the “wise” ones were too selfish to share theirs).
Of course, by the time the foolish virgins return, the door has been closed. They begin pounding on it, begging for admittance. But the voice from inside says, in so many words, “You keep a-knockin’, but you can’t come in.”
To add to their heartache, these foolish women are told that the lord inside the house “never knew [them].” And, what’s more, they’re not even encouraged to “come back tomorrow night and try again.”
So, there we have two approaches to what may, at first, seem like a silly, repetitive, two-chord rock-and-roll song sung in a high falsetto by Little Richard. Are there really gems to be mined from this song and other similar, shallow-sounding songs and films?
Nah. I don’t think so.