3 A.M.

Infobox Single |
Name = 3 A.M.


Artist = Matchbox Twenty
from Album = Yourself or Someone Like You
Released = November 23 1997 (US)
Format = CD single / Audio cassette
Recorded = 1996
Genre = Post-grunge
Length = 3:46
Label = Atlantic
Writer = Leslie Goff, John Joseph Stanley, Rob Thomas, Brian Yale
Producer = Matt Serletic
Last single = "Push" (1997)
This single = "3 A.M." (1998)
Next single = "Real World" (1998)

"3 A.M." is the third single and the third track from Matchbox Twenty's debut album "Yourself or Someone Like You". This song was written by Rob Thomas and was inspired by his mother's bout with cancer. When Thomas was 12, his mother was given six months to live. But by the time he left home at 17 she was alive and well. Thomas felt that after her illness, his mother failed to take life seriously, preferring to go and party. This song is about his frustration and loneliness during this time. He chose the time 3 a.m. because this was when the bars shut.

"3 A.M." is considered a defining song of post-grunge. [ [http://www.rhapsody.com/alternativepunk/grunge/postgrunge/more.html 'Description of Post-Grunge' by Rhapsody] ]

Music video

The video for "3 A.M.", directed by Gavin Bowden, features the band mainly sitting on the sides of a street next to some phone booths. A supermarket is also shown. The video switches from color video clips to black-and-white images. During the intro and the third verse of the song, Thomas walks in the middle of the street with some construction signs and lights. But during the third verse, a car pulls up with a bare-chested man and a woman inside. The man walks out, revealing a catheter in his chest, and is handed three cigarettes by Thomas. Finally, during the last two choruses, the band is shown playing their instruments ending with a shot of Thomas standing next to the phone booths.

Lawsuit

The song was originally performed and recorded with Tabitha's Secret, the band that three of Matchbox Twenty's members used to be in before splitting with them. See that article for details about the lawsuit that ensued, and its outcome.

Chart positions

References

External links

* Facts about Matchbox Twenty songs [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2440] .