Matchbox Twenty

Released: November 19, 2002

Songwriter: Rob Thomas

Producer: Matt Serletic

[Verse 1]
Someday they'll find your small town world on a big town avenue
Gonna make you like the way they talk, when they're talkin' to you
Gonna make you break out of your shell, 'cause they tell you to
Gonna make you like the way they lie, better than the truth

[Pre-Chorus 1]
They'll tell you everything you wanted someone else to say
They're gonna break your heart, yeah

[Chorus]
From what I've seen
You're just one more hand me down
'Cause no one's tried to give you what you need
So lay all your troubles down
I am with you now

[Verse 2]
Somebody oughta take you in, try to make you love again
Try to make you like the way they feel when they're under your skin
Never once do you think that they would lie when they're holdin' you
Then you wonder why they haven't called when they said they'd call you

[Pre-Chorus 2]
You'll start to wonder if you're ever gonna make it by
You'll start to think you were born blind

[Chorus]
From what I've seen
You're just one more hand me down
'Cause no one's tried to give you what you need
So lay all your troubles down
I am with you now

[Bridge 1]
I'm here for the hard times
The straight to your heart times
When livin' ain't easy
You can stand up against me
And maybe rely on me
And cry on me, yeah

[Interlude]
Oh no, no, no

[Bridge 2]
Someday they'll open up your world
Shake you down to the drawing board
They'll do their best to change you
They still can't erase you

[Chorus]
From what I've seen
You're just one more hand me down
'Cause no one's tried to give you what you need
So lay all your troubles down
I am with you now

[Outro]
Lay them down on me, oh, yeah
You're just one more hand me down
And all those nights don't give you what you need
So lay all your troubles down
On me
On me

Upon the release of their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, in fall 1996, Matchbox Twenty was pigeonholed as one of the legions of post-grunge guitar bands that roamed the American pop scene in the middle of that decade. As their first single, “Push,” climbed the charts, it was widely assumed (at least by cynical critics) that they were a one-hit wonder, but Yourself or Someone Like You continued to spin off singles well into 1998. By that time, the group’s blend of ‘70s arena rock and early-'90s American alt-rock – closer to Pearl Jam and maybe R.E.M. than Nirvana – had become the sound of mainstream American rock. That transition slipped underneath the radar of many pop music critics and fans. Yourself or Someone Like You sold millions of copies without ever truly dominating the charts – by 1998, it had gone platinum five times; by 2000, ten times. At no time did the record top the charts, but it was always around, a staple of modern rock, adult alternative, and Top 40 radio alike. Matchbox Twenty was omnipresent because they managed to blend the structure and sentiment of '70s arena rock with '90s hard rock, thereby winning a large audience by seeming simultaneously classicist and modern. They were a little more classicist than modern, but that’s the reason why they became America’s most popular rock band of the late '90s – even if nobody quite realized they had achieved that status.

The de facto leader of Matchbox Twenty is lead singer and songwriter Rob Thomas. An Army brat born on a military base in Germany, Thomas spent much of his childhood between his mother’s house in Florida and his grandmother’s place in South Carolina. The stress of the constant movement spilled over into his schoolwork, and he dropped out of high school at the age of 17. He spent some time wandering around the Southeast, singing in a variety of rock bands before he made Orlando, Florida his home base. There, he met bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette, and the three spent several years drifting through local bands before Matchbox Twenty officially formed. They rounded out the lineup with Adam Gaynor (rhythm guitar, vocals), who had previously worked at the Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, and Kyle Cook (lead guitar), a former student of the Atlanta Institute of Music.

The band hooked up with Collective Soul producer Matt Serletic and recorded a batch of demos, which helped the band secure gigs throughout the U.S. Soon, the band signed to Lava, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and recorded its debut, Yourself or Someone Like You, also with Serletic. The album was released in October 1996 to little attention, but Matchbox Twenty continued to tour America, cultivating a fan base. They eventually landed their single “Long Day” on several influential radio stations, which paved the way for their breakthrough hit, “Push.” In spring 1997, “Push” began climbing its way to the top of the modern rock charts, as it received heavy airplay from radio and MTV. By the summer, the single was in the modern rock Top Ten, and Yourself or Someone Like You had reached the album Top 40 and gone gold.

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