The Lyrics of "Exile on Mainstream" Quiz

Answer: If You're Gone

One of my favorite songs, "If You're Gone" was written as a letter to Rob Thomas' then finance, Marisol. She was having second thoughts about marrying a musician, so he turned his feelings and emotions into a song. It wound up breaking the record for the slowest climb to number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, moving to the top in its 42nd week on the chart.

PS. Just in case you're wondering, Rob and Marisol did get married!

Answer: Back2Good

So, two people walk into a bar... what? You've heard that one? "Back2Good" was about two people in a bar, really late at night. It was a 'Drinking and Cheating' song. It was about "messing up so much that you actually become good at it", according to the band.

Answer: I'll Believe You When

Before performing this song at a concert, Rob said "this song is about compromise & marriage & anyone who is married will understand". This song was about a man who is in a relationship with a woman, and has probably disappointed her in the past. Now that he's really trying to make a commitment, all she could say is "I'll believe you when -". "When pigs fly?" "When I see it?" You fill in the blank.

Answer: Mad Season

Rob Thomas said the inspiration for this song, "Mad Season", was fights and disagreements amongst the band members while on tour. It was about doing your best not to cross the line between sanity and insanity. It was about a mad season, which everyone goes through at one point or another.

Answer: Disease

This song wasn't literally about a disease. It was about a girl that the artist really loved, but she kept dragging him down, so he needed to end it. But at the same time, he really didn't want to, because he loved her. The whole thing was just tearing him apart.

"Disease" was written and performed by Rob Thomas. It was also co-written by none other than Mick Jagger, of The Rolling Stones.

Answer: 3 AM

"3 AM" was written about a time when lead singer Rob Thomas' mother was diagnosed with cancer. She was given six months to live. Rob was only a young teenager at the time, and wrote this song to deal with everything going on around him.

Rob, at his 2006 show in Cleveland, Ohio, said "When I was younger, I wrote songs all the time and at the time I thought they were great, but recently I looked at all the songs I wrote when I was younger and this was the first song that I ever wrote that, looking back on, I still think is good."

Answer: Bent

One of my favorite songs, "Bent" was about a man who has reached the point where he was rock bottom. He was confused, frustrated, and depressed.

Around the time that the official music video was made, lead singer of Matchbox Twenty, Rob Thomas, was releasing his first solo album. The official music video had the other band mates mugging and beating up Rob as an inside joke.

Answer: Bright Lights

"Bright Lights" was about a woman who left a man for what she thought was "bigger and better". The man thought that she was making a mistake, that he was the only one for her, and wanted her to "turn yourself around and come on home".

Answer: Unwell

In an interview with the "Cleveland Plain Dealer", Rob Thomas said: "'Unwell' is about having a despondent relationship with yourself. In the end, it's a positive song, because you come to terms with the fact you're not crazy." He also had been known to say something along the lines of "We all feel a little messed up sometimes... you're not alone.".

Answer: All Your Reasons

"All Your Reasons" was, quite simply "a very happy song, but it's a happy song about someone you hate. Because why should they bring you down?", according to lead singer, Rob Thomas. Rob Thomas also said "this song is a nice way of telling someone to 'go away'".