Matchbox Twenty

Released: November 12, 2001

Songwriter: Matt Serletic Rob Thomas

Producer: Matt Serletic

[Verse 1]
This will all fall down
Like everything else that was
This too shall pass
And all of the words we said
We can't take back

[Verse 2]
Now every fool in town
Would've left by now
I can't replace
All of the wasted days
The memory of your face
I can't help thinkin'

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Maybe if we ever coulda kept it all together
Where would we be?
A thousand lost forevers
And the promises you never were givin' me
Here's what I'm thinkin':

[Chorus]
It won't be the first heart that you break
It won't be the last, beautiful girl
The one that you wrecked won't take you back
If you were the last beautiful girl in the world
(Last beautiful girl)

[Verse 3]
So, tell me one more time
How you're sorry about
The way this all went down
You needed to find your space
You needed to still be friends
You needed me to-

[Pre-Chorus 2]
Call you if I ever couldn't keep it all together
You'd comfort me
You'd tell me 'bout forever
And the promises I never should have believed
Here's what I'm thinkin':

[Chorus]
It won't be the first heart that you break
It won't be the last, beautiful girl
The one that you wrecked won't take you back
If you were the last beautiful girl in the world
(Last beautiful girl)
Last beautiful girl in the world
(Last beautiful girl)

[Bridge]
It's over now and I've gone without
'Cause you're everyone else's girl
It seems to me you'll always be
Everyone else's girl
Everyone else's girl

[Verse 4]
This will all fall down
Like everything in the world
This too must end
And all of the words we said
We can't take back

[Chorus]
It won't be the first heart that you break
It won't be the last, beautiful girl
The one that you wrecked, won't take you back
If you were the last beautiful girl
It won't be the first heart that you break
It won't be the last, beautiful girl
The one that you wrecked, won't take you back
If you were the last beautiful girl in the world
(Last beautiful girl)
The last beautiful girl in the world
(Last beautiful girl)

[Outro]
You are the last beautiful girl
(Last beautiful girl)
Beautiful girl

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.

more tracks from the album

Mad Season

From the album

Mad Season (2000)

Matchbox Twenty popular songs

Last Beautiful GirlMatchbox Twenty

Matchbox Twenty

Mad Season