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.
Songs We Sing
Matt Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got a jar full of pennies
That don't amount to any
Thing, thing, thing
These are the melodies
With simple harmonies we sing
We sing of the hardship life brings
These are the songs that we sing
We sing
These are the songs that I sing
We sing
These are the songs that we sing
We sing
These are the songs that I sing
To make the day better
And we have got no home at all
Travel like gypsies living off any
Thing, thing, thing
These are the melodies
With simple harmonies we sing
We sing of the hardship life brings
It brings, it brings, it brings, it brings
These are the songs that we sing
We sing
These are the songs that I sing
We sing
These are the songs that we sing
We sing
These are the songs that I sing
To make the day better
We sing, we sing, we sing, we sing
These are the songs that we sing
We sing
These are the songs that I sing
We sing
These are the songs that we sing
We sing
These are the songs that I sing
To make the day better
The lyrics of Matt Costa's "Songs We Sing" embrace a sentimental and bittersweet feeling of living without much money or stability, and finding solace in the simplicity of music. The first verse describes the financial struggles of the singer, who has "got no dough at all" and must resort to a jar full of pennies. Despite the lack of financial security, the singer finds comfort in creating and sharing simple songs with others. The chorus emphasizes the unifying nature of these songs, as they become "the melodies with simple harmonies we sing" to share with fellow travelers.
The second verse similarly emphasizes the concept of transience, as the singer has "no home at all" and travels like a gypsy. Nonetheless, music serves as a constant companion and source of comfort. The repetition of the phrase "It brings, it brings, it brings, it brings," in both verses and the chorus reinforces the idea that the hardships of life are universal and can be eased by the act of singing together.
Overall, "Songs We Sing" is a poignant tribute to the power of music to transcend difficult circumstances and connect people in a shared experience of joy and consolation.
Line by Line Meaning
We have got no dough at all
We don't have any money
Got a jar full of pennies
We have a container full of coins
That don't amount to any
Those coins are not enough
Thing, thing, thing
Just to emphasize the lack of value
These are the melodies
These are the tunes
With simple harmonies we sing
We perform with easy-to-follow blending sounds
We sing of the hardship life brings
We vocalize about the struggles that existence carries
It brings, it brings, it brings, it brings
Again, to emphasize that life is challenging
These are the songs that we sing
These are the chants that we execute
We sing
We vocalize
These are the songs that I sing
These are the ditties that I perform
To make the day better
To improve someone's day
And we have got no home at all
We don't have a place to live
Travel like gypsies living off any
We move like nomads surviving with whatever
We sing, we sing, we sing, we sing
We keep singing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MATTHEW ALBERT COSTA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind