About The Song
“Don’t Come Around Here No More” is a rock song written by Tom Petty and Dave Stewart, recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their fifth album, Southern Accents, released on March 26, 1985, by MCA Records. Released as the album’s lead single in February 1985, with “Trailer” as the B-side, it peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 11, 1985, spending 14 weeks on the chart, and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It also hit No. 20 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart and No. 42 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA for one million US sales.
Recorded in 1984 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, and Stewart’s home studio in London, the track was produced by Jimmy Iovine, Dave Stewart, and Tom Petty. It features Tom Petty on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Campbell on guitar and synthesizer, Benmont Tench on piano and strings, Howie Epstein on bass and backing vocals, and Stan Lynch on drums, with additional contributions from Stewart on sitar and synthesizer, and backing vocalists Marilyn Martin and Stephanie Spruill. The song’s psychedelic, new wave sound, with its sitar intro and layered synths, marked a departure from the band’s roots rock, inspired by Stewart’s Eurythmics work, per Billboard 1985. The lyrics, about rejecting a former lover, were written by Petty after a breakup, possibly inspired by Stevie Nicks, as Stewart suggested in Songfacts. The track took weeks to record, with Iovine blending its experimental elements, per Rhino’s session logs.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976, were exploring new sounds after Long After Dark (1982). The song originated during a late-night jam at Stewart’s London flat, where Petty and Stewart, fueled by champagne, crafted the sitar-driven riff, per Petty: The Biography. The music video, directed by Jeff Stein, adopted an Alice in Wonderland theme with Petty as the Mad Hatter, sparking minor controversy over its surreal imagery but becoming an MTV staple, per Rolling Stone. The band performed it live on their 1985 Southern Accents Tour, including a July 1985 show at Irvine Meadows, and it remained a staple, played at their 2017 Hollywood Bowl concert, Petty’s last before his death on October 2, 2017.
Covers include Relient K’s 2003 version and a 2018 live take by The Dirty Knobs, Campbell’s band. The song appeared in TV shows like Cold Case (2006) and films like The Messengers (2007). Its Am-C-D chord progression, analyzed on Medium, and bold “don’t come around here no more” hook drove its radio play, per Genius. Petty called it a “liberating experiment” in a 2002 Mojo interview, crediting Stewart’s influence. The track’s recording, per American Songwriter, reflected the band’s willingness to push boundaries, with Tench’s strings adding cinematic depth.
Video
Lyric
Hey! Don’t come around here no more
Don’t come around here no more
Whatever you’re lookin’ for
Hey! Don’t come around here no moreI’ve given up, stop
I’ve given up, stop
I’ve given up, stop, on waiting any longer
I’ve given up, on this love getting strongerI don’t feel you anymore
You darken my door
Whatever you’re lookin’ for
Hey! Don’t come around here no moreI’ve given up, stop
I’ve given up, stop
I’ve given up, you tangle my emotions
I’ve given up, honey, please admit it’s overHey! Don’t come around here no more
Don’t come around here no more
Whatever you’re lookin’ for
Hey! Don’t come around here no moreStop walking down my street
Don’t come around here no more
Who you expect to meet?
Don’t come around here no more
And whatever you’re lookin’ for
Hey! Don’t come around here no more