Who Can It Be Now? is a 1981 pop-rock/new wave hit by the Australian band Men at Work, serving as the opening track on their debut album Business as Usual. The song was written by frontman Colin Hay, who composed the music in 1979 while in a tree house in Bermagui, New South Wales, but delayed writing lyrics until 1981 due to personal circumstances.
The lyrics were inspired by Hay’s living situation in St. Kilda, Victoria, where he lived next to drug dealers. Mistaken identity led to frequent, unwanted knocks on his door from people seeking stimulants, creating a sense of paranoia and a desire for solitude. Hay also expressed frustration that visitors often demanded time or money he did not have or want to give.
Musically, the track is defined by its iconic saxophone hook, performed by Greg Ham. Producer Peter McIan originally placed the saxophone part in the middle of the song but moved it to the intro to create a stronger hook, also using Ham’s improvised playing for the solo. Released in Australia in May 1981 and the US in May 1982, the song reached #2 in Australia and #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in October 1982, aided by early MTV airplay and a music video depicting a paranoid man in his apartment.
Who can it be knocking at my door?
Go away, don’t come ’round here no more
Can’t you see that it’s late at night?
I’m very tired and I’m not feeling right
All I wish is to be alone
Stay away, don’t you invade my home
Best off if you hang outside
Don’t come in, I’ll only run and hide
[Chorus]
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
[Verse 2]
Who can it be knockin’ at my door?
Make no sound, tip-toe across the floor
If he hears, he’ll knock all day
I’ll be trapped, and here I’ll have to stay
I’ve done no harm, I keep to myself
There’s nothin’ wrong with my state of mental health
I like it here with my childhood friend
Here they come, those feelings again
[Chorus]
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
[Bridge]
Is it the man come to take me away?
Why do they follow me?
It’s not the future that I can see
It’s just my fantasy
Yeah
[Saxophone Solo]
[Chorus]
Oh-oh-oh
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
[Outro]
Oh, who can it be now?
Oh-wee, oh
Who can it? Who can it?
Oh
Who can it be now?
Oh-wee, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
