In early 2003, Costa's homemade demo reached No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont, who offered to record more demos for Costa in his home studio. Those first recordings led to two EPs that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. These were later combined and mixed by Phil Ek in order to form Costa's first full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing.
Costa spent the summer of 2005 opening on Jack Johnson's summer tour. He has since toured with Modest Mouse, Oasis, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Death Cab for Cutie. Costa joined Jack Johnson for his 2006 European tour. He has also contributed to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George soundtrack; his track is entitled "Lullaby". This song was taken from his The Elasmosaurus EP. Costa has also toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and South America.
The video for Costa's first single "Cold December" was released February 2, 2006. On July 31, 2007, he released a song titled "If You Took To Me" as part of the environmentally minded polar bear documentary Arctic Tale and its soundtrack.
On October 7, 2007, Costa released the first single, "Mr. Pitiful," from his record Unfamiliar Faces. The song "Mr. Pitiful" was used during a scene with Paul Rudd in the movie I Love You, Man, the redband trailer for the film Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera, and the movie Marmaduke. The song is featured during the opening credits of The Answer Man (film). Apple also used an instrumental cut of this song for the worldwide iPhone 3GS ads.
Mobile Chateau, Costa's next album, was released on September 21, 2010, via Brushfire Records. His 2013 self-titled album was recorded at Pheasant Studios in Santa Ana, CA, as Costa's first solo production.
Drive
Matt Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or would he like that
Tell him I won't keep you long
As soon as our good times are gone I'll bring you right back
We'll drive to the sea
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
Be as good as I can be
So baby ask your man to please define the words he screams
Across the phone each time I call you
Tell him I won't do a single thing he wouldn't do to you
Except not own you
We'll drive to the sea
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
Be as good as I can be
Try not to get your clothes too sandy
I don't want to, I don't want to take his place
I just want to
We'll drive to the sea
And watch the sun come up
We'll drive to the sea
And watch the sun come up over the hills
And we'll drive to the sea
We'll drive to the sea
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
And we'll drive to the sea
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
In "Drive" by Matt Costa, the singer is encouraging a woman to come away with him, suggesting that she ask her current partner if it would be okay. He promises to bring her back once their "good times are gone." They will journey to the beach to watch the sunrise, with the singer pledging to be good and not spoil her clothes with sand. He advises her to ask her current partner to be less aggressive when speaking to him on the phone before saying that he doesn't want to take her man's place; he just wants to drive to the sea with her and watch the sunrise.
One interpretation of this song could be that the singer is offering the woman an escape from an unhappy relationship. He is not seeking to replace her partner, but rather to offer her a brief reprieve from her troubles. The mention of her partner's angry phone calls could suggest that he is controlling or possessive, and the singer is trying to offer her an alternative.
Another interpretation could be that the singer is encouraging the woman to take a risk and pursue something new and exciting. By framing it as something her partner would have to agree to, he is implying that it would be consensual and not cheating. He promises to be thoughtful and respectful of her needs, even as he tempts her away from her current situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby ask your man if he would let you come along with me
Inquire with your partner if he would allow you to join me for a ride
Or would he like that
Or would he object to you coming with me
Tell him I won't keep you long
Assure him that I won't take up too much of your time
As soon as our good times are gone I'll bring you right back
Once our enjoyable moments end, I will promptly return you
We'll drive to the sea
Together we will travel to the ocean
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
Observing the sunrise from the horizon over the hills and trees
Be as good as I can be
I will behave the best way that I am capable of in order to treat you well
Try not to get your clothes too sandy
Attempt not to get sand all over your outfit to avoid discomfort
So baby ask your man to please define the words he screams
Kindly request your partner to explain the things he yells when I call you
Across the phone each time I call you
When I reach out to you on the phone
Tell him I won't do a single thing he wouldn't do to you
Assure him that I will not do anything to you that he wouldn't do himself
Except not own you
Except not claim ownership over you like he does
I don't want to, I don't want to take his place
I have no intention of replacing your partner
I just want to
All I desire is
And we'll drive to the sea
Together we will travel to the ocean
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
Observing the sunrise from the horizon over the hills and trees
And we'll drive to the sea
Together we will travel to the ocean
And watch the sun come up over the hills and trees
Observing the sunrise from the horizon over the hills and trees
Contributed by Cameron C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John Kargol
The album's been out for a year now and it's safe to say that it's my favorite album of his. I went through a phase for quite some time where I was listening to it everyday, he's captured the landscape perfectly in his songwriting. It may feel a little disparate to the rest of his catalog, but it's definitely still Matt.
MultipurposeGamer
I love this song. One of his best on the new album. Glad there is this sort of music video for it.
inlinekidk2
Definitely my favorite song by him.
Moar 61
This version is awesome.
harmatoslabu1
I'm falling in love with his music. oh.
Andrew Lenhart
Awhhh, poor Costa. This album sounds like some one broke his heart. :( If he was with me, I wouldn't break his heart. Lol
hollyraeraeful
WOW totally reminiscient of leo sayer's voice!!! talent always shows, whether it's ur type of tunes or not!!!
inlinekidk2
The songs themselves are amazing! But the echo-y of the album is a little hard to get used to.
Mister J
Desires last fling and tv gods are great songs. He needs to do that style more
Vic Perez
Pretty cool song!!!