About The Song
“Matches” is a song recorded by American country music artist Sammy Kershaw, released in March 1998 as the second single from his fifth studio album Labor of Love on Mercury Records. The song reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, following the success of the album’s lead single “Love of My Life,” which hit No. 2. It marked a continuation of Kershaw’s mid-1990s to late 1990s chart presence.
The recording took place in Nashville, produced by Keith Stegall, with a country arrangement featuring acoustic guitar, steel guitar, and Kershaw’s expressive vocal style. The session included musicians such as Brent Mason on electric guitar and Paul Franklin on steel guitar, contributing to the song’s narrative-driven tone. The track runs 3:54 on the album, with the single version maintaining the same length for radio play. Labor of Love, released on September 23, 1997, peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, differing from Kershaw’s earlier platinum-certified albums by focusing predominantly on ballads.
The lyrics tell the story of a man who meets a woman at a bar, the Broken Spoke restaurant and lounge, where he lights her cigarette with a matchbook, sparking a relationship. After a breakup, he finds the same matchbook and uses it to burn down the bar, with lines like “Now one by one, I’m striking them to help me to forget.” The song was written by Skip Ewing and Roger Springer, reflecting a tale of love, betrayal, and revenge. The music video debuted on CMT on February 25, 1998, directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions, using a lounge in downtown Nashville and a bar in Hartsville, Tennessee, to depict the story.
The video features an actor portraying the narrator setting the bar ablaze and exiting unharmed, aligning with the song’s dramatic conclusion. Kershaw conceived the video’s concept himself, adding a personal touch to the visual narrative. The song was performed live during Kershaw’s 1998 tour, with a 14-piece band, and was included on his 2003 compilation Best of Sammy Kershaw: 20th Century Masters. The track was released in multiple formats, including CD and vinyl, with B-sides like “Honky Tonk America.”
The song’s production involved multiple takes to capture its emotional intensity, with Kershaw drawing from his experience performing in honky-tonks from a young age. Labor of Love also included other singles like “Honky Tonk America” and “One Day Left to Live,” though none matched the chart success of “Love of My Life.”
Video
Lyric
We met at the Broken Spoke restaurant and lounge
I lit your cigarette then you wrote your number down
On the inside of a matchbook that was laying on the bar
And a fire started burning somewhere in my heartI didn’t see it coming, guess I didn’t read the signs
I just never thought you’d leave me after all this time
But today when I came home, my key was hollow in the door
And there was nothing but a worn out book of matches on the floorYou took the bed, you took the dishes and the car
And you broke my trust and you took advantage of my heart
And you left me here with empty rooms and walls with holes and scars and scratches
If I find the strength to burn your memory down
At least you left the matchesThe color’s old and faded, the cover’s worn and stained
But I can still make out the numbers and the heart beside your name
Until tonight they’d only lit a single cigarette
Now one by one, I’m striking them to help me to forgetAnd everybody at the Broken Spoke
They all thought my crazy story was a joke
Now they’re out in the parking lot staring at the smokeYou took the bed, you took the dishes and the car
And you broke my trust and you took advantage of my heart
And you left me here with empty rooms and walls with holes and scars and scratches
Now I’ve found the strength to burn your memory down
Oh, at least you left the matchesBaby all that’s left of our love now is ashes
Thank God you left the matches