"Don't Come Around Here No More" is a song written by

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

and

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...

. It was released in February 1985 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' '' Southern Accents'' album.

Background and writing

The original inspiration was a romantic encounter that producer

had with

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

. On ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'', Stewart explained that the title's phrase was actually uttered by Nicks. She had broken up with

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

singer and guitarist

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

the night before, and invited Stewart to her place for a party after an early Eurythmics show in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Stewart did not know who she was at the time, but went anyway. When the partygoers all disappeared to a bathroom for a couple of hours to snort cocaine, he decided to go upstairs to bed. He woke up at 5 a.m. to find Nicks in his room trying on Victorian clothing and described the entire scenario as very much reminiscent of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''. Later that morning, when Walsh came by to find Nicks, Stewart heard Nicks throw Walsh out, saying "Don't come around here no more." According to Nicks, the song was originally written for her album '' Rock a Little'', but she declined it after Petty performed the vocals for her, feeling she could not do the song justice.

Reception

"Don't Come Around Here No More" is widely regarded as one of Petty's best songs. In its contemporary review of the song, ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said that it "features a surprisingly ethereal assortment of sounds including purely psychedelic guitars" and that "Petty’s gut-wrenching lead vocal...is the captivating soul of the song." In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest Tom Petty songs, and in 2020, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 50 greatest Tom Petty songs.

Music video

The music video is themed around the 1865

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

novel ''

'', and was directed by Jeff Stein. Stewart appears as the caterpillar at the beginning, sitting on a mushroom with a hookah water pipe while playing a sitar. Petty appears in the video dressed as

The Mad Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Car ...

, and actress/singer Louise Foley played Alice. Alice eats a cake given to her by Stewart and tumbles into a black/white-patterned realm similar to the "Mad Tea Party" scene from ''Alice in Wonderland''. She experiences a succession of bizarre events, culminating in her body being turned into a cake and eaten by the guests at the tea party. The video ends with Petty swallowing Alice whole,

burp Burping (also called belching and eructation) is the release of gas from the upper digestive tract (esophagus and stomach) of animals through the mouth. It is usually audible. In humans, burping can be caused by normal eating processes, or as ...

ing softly, and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Personnel

The Heartbreakers *

– lead vocals, piano * Mike Campbell – guitar,

bass synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

–

string synthesizer A string synthesizer or string machine is a specialized synthesizer designed specifically to make sounds similar to that of a string orchestra. Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between electronic organs ...

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

– drums, percussion *

Howie Epstein Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early life Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in a musical household. His ...

– bass guitar, vocals Additional personnel *

–

electric sitar An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional ...

, synthesizer, vocals *

Dean Garcia Dean Garcia (born 3 May 1958) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician, best known as a member of the alternative rock duo Curve from 1990 to 2005. He also released solo work and collaborated with many other artists. Biography Garcia was ...

– intro bass guitar *Daniel Rothmuller –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Marilyn Martin Marilyn Martin (born May 4, 1954) is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, "Separate Lives", her only number one. Early life Marilyn Martin was born on May 4, 1954, in Tennessee but raise ...

– backing vocals *Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals *Sharon Celani – backing vocals *Alan "Bugs" Weidel – wild dog piano

Chart performance

References

{{authority control Tom Petty songs 1985 singles Songs written by Tom Petty Songs written by David A. Stewart Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Songs based on actual events MCA Records singles 1985 songs Music based on Alice in Wonderland