"Matches" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Kershaw (born February 24, 1958) is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the ...

. It was released in March 1998 as the second single from the album '' Labor of Love''. The song reached #22 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The song was written by

Skip Ewing Donald Ralph "Skip" Ewing (born March 6, 1964) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1988, Ewing has recorded nine studio albums and has charted 15 singles on the '' Billboard'' country charts. Career Ewing was born ...

and

Roger Springer Roger Springer (born June 15, 1962, in Caddo, Oklahoma) is an American country music artist. Springer's only single as a solo artist, "The Right One Left," was released in 1992 on MCA Nashville and peaked at No. 69 on the '' Billboard'' H ...

Content

The song is about a man who meets a woman at a bar, where he offers to light her cigarette with a book of matches. Later on, the two break up, and the man uses the matches to burn down the bar where they met.

Music video

The music video debuted on CMT on February 25, 1998. Kershaw came up with the video's concept himself, and

Deaton-Flanigen Productions Deaton-Flanigen Productions is an American film company based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was named after the surnames of founders Robert Deaton III and George Flanigen IV. The two have directed multiple music videos, primarily in the field ...

directed it. The video retells the song's story, using a lounge in downtown

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, to represent the bar's interior, and another bar in

Hartsville, Tennessee Hartsville is a town in Trousdale County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Trousdale County, with which it shares a consolidated city-county government. The population of Hartsville was 11,615 as of 2020. Hartsville now shares ...

, to represent the exterior. The actor who portrays the song's narrator sets the bar ablaze and then exits unharmed as the bar catches fire. According to Kershaw, he nearly canceled the video shoot after another building in Hartsville caught fire the same day, but was encouraged by the city's mayor to proceed with the shoot.

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1998 singles 1997 songs Sammy Kershaw songs Songs written by Skip Ewing Songs written by Roger Springer Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Mercury Nashville singles Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions