Matchbox Twenty

Released: November 19, 2002

Songwriter: Rob Thomas

Producer: Matt Serletic

[Verse 1]
Slow dancin' on the boulevard
In the quiet moments while the city's still dark
Sleepwalkin' through the summer rain
In the tired spaces you could hear her name
When she was, warm and tender and you
Held her arms around you
There was nothin' but her love and affection
She was crazy for you
Now she's part of somethin' that you lost

[Chorus]
And for all you know, this could be
The difference between what you need
And what you wanna be
Yeah, what you wanna be

[Verse 2]
Night swimmin' in her diamond dress
Making small circles move across the surface
Stand watchin' from the steady shore
Feelin' wide open and waitin' for
Somethin' warm and tender
Now she's movin' further from you
There was nothin' that could make it easy on you
Every step you take reminds you that she's walkin' on

[Chorus]
Yeah, for all you know, this could be
The difference between what you need
And what you want...

[Bridge]
Every word you never said
Echoes down your empty hallway
And everything that was your world
Just came down

[Verse 3]
Day breakin' on the boulevard
Feel the sun warmin' up your second-hand heart
Light swimmin' right across your face and you think
Maybe someday, yeah, maybe someday

[Chorus]
For all you know, yeah, this could be
The difference between what you need
And what you want...

[Outro]
Yeah, for all you know
For all you know
Yeah, for all that you know
This is what you wanna be
Girl, what you wanna be

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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