Push (Matchbox Twenty song)

"Push" is a song by American rock band Matchbox Twenty. It was released in 1997 as the second single from their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You (1996). After landing "Long Day" on several rock radio stations paving the way, "Push" topped the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and became one of the band's signature songs.

Composition
Vocalist Rob Thomas wrote the lyrics to "Push" with Matt Serletic. The song's lyrics are about the stress of falling in and out of love. Thomas stated that the man in the song (either himself or fictional) was the one being abused, either emotionally or physically, by a woman. Later after its release, some feminist groups were outraged and claimed the song was about abusing women, Thomas expressed surprise when he heard that the song was being interpreted as misogynistic. In an interview with The Morning Call, the bass guitarist Brian Yale adding "We were kind of surprised when we heard all that stuff. [Our response] was, 'Wow, really? No, it's not about that.'

Music video
The video for "Push" was directed by Nigel Dick, and shot March 27–28, 1997, in Los Angeles. The video starts and ends with Rob Thomas playing with a puppet. Throughout the song, the band is seen playing in an alley. A couple of scenes feature Thomas chained to a wall. Another scene is of Thomas holding onto a barbed wire fence while the band stands in the background. He gets stuck by the fence but keeps putting his hands back on it. Thomas is also seen in a room containing a clock and a bed, though no windows are shown.

Track listings and formats

 * 12-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD single
 * 1) "Push"  – 3:59
 * 2) "Tired"  – 3:44


 * Maxi-single
 * 1) "Push"  – 3:59
 * 2) "Busted" (acoustic) – 4:24
 * 3) "Tired"  – 3:44

Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the Yourself or Someone Like You album liner notes.
 * Rob Thomas – vocals, writer
 * Kyle Cook – lead guitar, background vocals
 * Adam Gaynor – rhythm guitar, background vocals
 * Brian Yale – bass
 * Paul Doucette – drums
 * Matt Serletic – writer, producer, mixing, composition and arrangement
 * Jeff Tomei – engineering
 * Greg Archilla – mixing
 * John Nielson – recording assistant
 * Malcolm Springer – mixing assistant
 * Stephen Marcussen – mastering
 * Don C. Tyler – digital editing

In popular culture
An extract of the song was used in the "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medley, "Polka Power!", along with many other popular songs of the late 90s, off the album Running with Scissors.

In the 2023 fantasy comedy Barbie, Ken (played by Ryan Gosling) adopts it as his favorite song after visiting the real world, and it becomes "a tongue-in-cheek anthem of patriarchal dominance" in  Barbieland. While many reviews of the film interpreted this as a critique of the song, director Greta Gerwig said that she was a fan of Matchbox Twenty and "I never put anything in a movie I don’t love." Gosling's cover of the song was included on Barbie the Album (Best Weekend Ever Edition).