"If You Only Knew" is the fourth single by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original ...

from their 2008 album, ''

The Sound of Madness ''The Sound of Madness'' is the third studio album by American alternative metal/hard rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008. The album's lead single, " Devour", was released to radio on May 5, 2008. It is their first release to feature Eric ...

''. The music video premiered on October 6, 2009. The song was written about Brent Smith's ex-girlfriend when she was pregnant with their child. Smith has described the song as "their first ballad". The song was used in a promo for ABC's daytime drama '' One Life to Live''. "If You Only Knew" was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1,000,000 copies.

Background

After Shinedown recorded their second studio album ''

Us and Them Us and Them may refer to: *The sociological concept of in-group and out-group *'' Us & Them'', an American television series * ''Us and Them'' (Australian TV series), a 1994 Australian comedy television series * "Us and Them" (song), by Pink Floy ...

'', Smith decided to take time off before starting on the next studio album. In an interview with

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

, Smith said he would "never do a love song, ever" but changed his mind after falling in love with an old friend he reunited with. Smith explained "If You Only Knew" was "about the person that you love and that you miss and that you still believe in, and that's the only thing that you have to hold onto sometimes."

Charts

On the week ending November 14, 2009, "If You Only Knew" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 92. Five weeks later, it peaked at number 42. On the week ending February 6, 2010, it matched its peak. "If You Only Knew" peaked at number 64 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Music video

This video takes place on the steel skeleton of a skyscraper in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

that has yet to be finished being built. While the video's primary focus is the band playing, there are also shots of couples standing around the building's rafters.

Certifications

References

{{authority control Shinedown songs 2008 songs 2009 singles Songs written by Brent Smith Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs written by Dave Bassett (songwriter) Atlantic Records singles