by Jessica Shelton·March 9, 2020

When “Push” first came out, it got Matchbox Twenty into beef with some feminists. The reason being that they were under the impression this song centers on a man being abusive towards his lover. And well, they did get the abusive part right. But as Rob Thomas tells it, what the narrative of this song is actually centered on is a guy, i.e. the singer, being ‘pushed around’ by his female lover.

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However, it is easy to understand how this song can be misunderstood considering the way it is worded. But at the end of the day, what is going down is this:

Yes the female character, who is clearly identified, is expressing some emotional discontent. This is due to her, in her own estimation, deeming that she has never truly been in love. Or stated otherwise her current romantic partner, i.e. the singer, isn’t getting it done for her.

But then without warning, the song switches over to his perspective. And what he is doing, succinctly put, is pleading with her not to dump him. In other words, even though their relationship is not ideal (i.e. she mistreats him), he still hopes that things will turn out for the best.

Chorus

Okay, so now with that being established, the song then switches again, without any clear indication, to her viewpoint. This would be the actual chorus, the part of the track in which the singer is asserting that he will “push” the addressee “around”. That’s another way of saying that he intends to bully the person he is speaking to, as in his partner. But again, at this point he is speaking from the female’s perspective. Indeed what this song is actually based on is Rob Thomas having been “scarred” by an ex-girlfriend and other women in his past. And when the aforementioned feminists became aware that this was the actual meaning of “Push”, they promptly deaded their beef with the band.

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Conclusion

So conclusively, this song is based on an unconventional storyline, even in pop music, of a man being emotionally abused by a female. More specifically, said female is a romantic partner who has pretty much decided to part ways with him. However, he is pleading with her not to go, despite the way she treats him. And apparently his behaving in such a manner is even encouraging her even more to ‘take him for granted’.

Facts about “Push”

This track, being a part of Matchbox Twenty’s maiden album “Yourself or Someone Like You”, was released on 1 October 1996. And the following year, Atlantic Records also issued it as the third single from the project. Another notable single from the project is the song “Back 2 Good“.

The direction of the music video to this track (“Push”) was handled by Nigel Dick.

“Push” is considered to be Matchbox Twenty’s first hit. It made it onto five Billboard Charts, including reaching number one on their Alternative Songs listing. It also appeared on the UK Singles Chart, has been certified Platinum in Australia and overall charted in almost 10 countries.

Matchbox Twenty’s lead singer Rob Thomas wrote this song, with Matt Serletic being credited for its production. Thomas has stated that they initially conceptualized the entire track based on one word – that being “rusty”.