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"Knock Me Down"
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Mother's Milk
B-side(s)	"Millionaires Against Hunger" "Show Me Your Soul"
Released	August 22, 1989
Recorded	1989
Genre	Funk Metal, Rock
Length	3:44
Label	EMI/Capitol Records
Writer(s)	Flea/Kiedis/Smith/Frusciante
Producer(s)	Michael Beinhorn
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Me & My Friends" (1987)	"Knock Me Down" (1989)	"Higher Ground" (1989)

"Knock Me Down"
Song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Mother's Milk
Genre	Rock
Length	3:44
Mother's Milk track listing
"Good Time Boys" "Higher Ground" "Subway to Venus" "Magic Johnson" "Nobody Weird Like Me" "Knock Me Down" "Taste the Pain" "Stone Cold Bush" "Fire" "Pretty Little Ditty" "Punk Rock Classic" "Sexy Mexican Maid" "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky"

"Knock Me Down" is a single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Mother's Milk.

It was written as an anti-heroin song after the death of original guitarist Hillel Slovak, and refers to the ongoing heroin struggles of lead singer Anthony Kiedis: "If you see me getting mighty / If you see me getting high / Knock me down". A video was recorded featuring Alex Winter of Bill and Ted fame.

Kiedis and John Frusciante sing all the lyrics simultaneously, but the record label edit of the song is mixed in a way that has Frusciante's vocals set louder than Kiedis' throughout the song, giving the song a different sound to the others on Mother's Milk. The original, longer version of this song is featured on the bonus Mother's Milk CD as well as various live Hendrix covers. It is also sometimes played with additional background vocals, namely a woman who sings near the end of the song after the interlude, as well singing a countermelody over the chorus. This harmonises the three way vocals creating a very memorable and recognisable chorus.

This was the first song by the band to make it onto the Modern Rock Charts, where it made it to #6.

CD single (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Millionaires Against Hunger" (Previously Unreleased) – 3:28
3. "Fire" – 2:03

CD version 2 (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Punk Rock Classic" – 1:47
3. "Magic Johnson" – 2:57
4. "Special Secret Song Inside" – 3:16

7" single (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Punk Rock Classic" – 1:47
3. "Pretty Little Ditty" – 1:37

7" version 2 (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Punk Rock Classic" – 1:47
3. "Pretty Little Ditty" – 1:37

7" version 3 (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Show Me Your Soul" (Previously Unreleased) – 4:22

7" version 4 (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Punk Rock Classic" – 1:47
3. "Magic Johnson" – 2:57
4. "Special Secret Song Inside" – 3:16

12" single (1989)

1. "Knock Me Down" – 3:44
2. "Millionaires Against Hunger" (Previously Unreleased) – 3:28
3. "Fire" – 2:03
4. "Punk Rock Classic" – 1:47

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Anthony Kiedis | John Frusciante | Flea | Chad Smith
Hillel Slovak | Dave Navarro | Cliff Martinez | Jack Sherman | Arik Marshall | Jesse Tobias | D. H. Peligro | Jack Irons
Discography
Studio albums: The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984) | Freaky Styley (1985) | The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987) | Mother's Milk (1989) | Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) | One Hot Minute (1995) | Californication (1999) | By the Way (2002) | Stadium Arcadium (2006)
EPs, Live albums and compilations: The Abbey Road E.P. (1988) | What Hits!? (1992) | Live Rare Remix Box (1994) | Out in L.A. (1994) | Under the Covers: Essential Red Hot Chili Peppers (1998) | The Best of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (1998) | Greatest Hits (2003) | Live in Hyde Park (2004)
Singles: 1984: True Men Don't Kill Coyotes, Get Up and Jump | 1985: Jungle Man, American Ghost Dance, Catholic School Girls Rule, Hollywood (Africa) | 1987: Fight Like a Brave, Me & My Friends | 1989: Knock Me Down, Higher Ground, Taste the Pain | 1990: Show Me Your Soul | 1991: Give It Away | 1992: Under the Bridge, Suck My Kiss, Behind the Sun, Breaking the Girl | 1993: If You Have to Ask, Soul to Squeeze | 1995: Warped, My Friends | 1996: Aeroplane, Coffee Shop, Shallow Be Thy Game, Love Rollercoaster | 1999: Scar Tissue, Around the World | 2000: Otherside, Californication, Road Trippin', Parallel Universe | 2002: By the Way, The Zephyr Song | 2003: Can't Stop, Dosed, Universally Speaking, Fortune Faded | 2006: Dani California, Tell Me Baby, Snow ((Hey Oh)) | 2007: Desecration Smile, Hump de Bump
Other pages: Videography | Songs | B-sides Compilation
Related articles
Chain Reaction | What Is This? | Jane's Addiction | Pearl Jam | Fear | The Mars Volta | Rick Rubin | "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
Categories: Red Hot Chili Peppers | Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs
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