"3AM" (stylized as "3 am" on the album and "3 AM" on the single) is the third single and the third track from American rock band Matchbox 20's debut album, ''

Yourself or Someone Like You ''Yourself or Someone Like You'' is the debut album by American rock band Matchbox 20. It was released on October 1, 1996, by Lava Records and Atlantic Records. The album has been certified 12× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of ...

'' (1996). Written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale, the song was inspired by Thomas dealing with his mother's

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

as a teenager. The song was officially serviced to US

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

radio in October 1997 and was given a commercial release outside North America the following month. "3AM" topped the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart for two weeks and the US ''

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 advertis ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

chart for 10 weeks; it was not eligible to chart on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

at the time due to not receiving a physical release in the United States. Outside North America, "3AM" reached number 31 in Australia and became a minor hit in Europe. A music video was also made for the song, directed by Gavin Bowden and filmed in Los Angeles.

Background and content

"3AM" was written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale while performing together in the early 1990s band Tabitha's Secret. The song was first recorded by that band on its debut EP, ''Tabitha's Secret?''. The lyrics are inspired by Thomas as an adolescent having to live with a mother fighting to survive cancer. In 1997, after the other members of Tabitha's Secret left to form Matchbox 20, Goff and Stanley released other early recordings of the band, including "3 AM", on '' Don't Play with Matches''.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Gavin Bowden, was shot in Los Angeles. It features the band sitting on sides of a street next to some telephone booths. A

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

is also shown. The video switches between color video clips and black-and-white still images. During the introduction and the third verse of the song, Thomas walks in the middle of the street with some construction signs and lights. During the third verse, a

Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Chevrolet ...

with a bare-chested man and a woman inside stops in front of Thomas. The man gets out, revealing a catheter in his chest, receives three cigarettes from Thomas and then gets back in the Trans Am. Finally, during the last two choruses, the band is shown playing their instruments (presumably in the lobby of a hotel or office building) as rain can be seen falling from a large window behind them. The video ends with an image of Thomas standing next to the telephone booths.

Track listings

Australian and UK CD single # "3 AM" – 3:46 # "Push" (acoustic) – 4:19 # "Shame" – 3:35 UK 7-inch and cassette single; European CD single # "3 AM" – 3:46 # "Push" (acoustic) – 4:19

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Facts about Matchbox Twenty songs
{{DEFAULTSORT:3 A.M. (Matchbox Twenty Song) 1996 songs 1997 singles Atlantic Records singles Lava Records singles Matchbox Twenty songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Matt Serletic Songs about loneliness Songs written by Rob Thomas (musician) Songs about cancer