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.
Sweet Thursday
Matt Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm waiting in the forest
Pylon at my side
The treasure lies before us
And so we started walking
We knew they couldn't harm us
And how the wind is crying
We'll walk back to the flats
With gallons in our hands
We're walking in the fields
We're working on the farms
We do just like our fathers
How can they take that from us?
And so we started driving
We had no choice to leave this
The bowl was left behind us
For Hooverville's before us
Three hundred thousand
Bodies who can't rest
Sweet Thursday is calling me back up to Monterey
Up to Monterey
So I started driving
And left my home behind me
The row there kept reminding
Of pages in your writing
Sweet Thursday is calling me back up to Monterey
Up to Monterey
Matt Costa's song Sweet Thursday speaks of the struggle of the people who had to leave their homes and farms behind to seek a better future. The singer of the song is waiting in the forest, with a pylon at his side, indicating that he is on a path that may not be easy. He is waiting to embark on a journey that will lead him to a treasure that lies before him. The treasure could be anything – their hopes, dreams, or aspirations. Along with his fellowmen, he walks in the fields, toils on the farms, following in the footsteps of their fathers, and doing what they have always done. But somewhere along the way, they were forced to leave their homes and farms due to circumstances beyond their control. They had no choice but to leave behind the bowl, a symbol of their lives and livelihood. They are now one of the 300,000 wandering souls seeking a place to call their own.
The last stanza of the song tells us that Sweet Thursday is calling him back up to Monterey. He left his home behind and drove to a new destination with the hope of a better future. But the music of his home, his memories, and love remain with him. Sweet Thursday represents the day of hope, wherein even in the face of adversity, one could find solace, food, and shelter. The song is a commentary on the impact of the Great Depression in the USA, and how it affected the lives of ordinary people. The lyrics are a poignant reminder of the sacrifices that people have to make to survive and the importance of hope in such times.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm waiting in the pines
I'm waiting in the forest
Pylon at my side
I have a tower structure beside me
The treasure lies before us
We expect to find something valuable nearby
And so we started walking
We begin our journey by foot
We knew they couldn't harm us
We felt safe and secure from any harm
And how the wind is crying
The wind sounds like it's crying or weeping
When misty morning dawn breaks
When the morning fog dissipates and the sun rises
We'll walk back to the flats
We will return to the flatlands
With gallons in our hands
We are carrying many gallons of something with us
We're walking in the fields
We're taking a walk through the fields
We're working on the farms
We're performing farm-related tasks
We do just like our fathers
We follow in the footsteps of our fathers
How can they take that from us?
We question why someone would try to take away what we have
And so we started driving
We begin our journey by car
We had no choice to leave this
We had no option but to leave this place
The bowl was left behind us
The bowl was abandoned as we left
For Hooverville's before us
We're heading for the Hoovervilles which are in front of us
Three hundred thousand
There are 300,000 people in this place
Bodies who can't rest
People who are dead and unable to rest in peace
Sweet Thursday is calling me back up to Monterey
I'm being drawn back up to Monterey by Sweet Thursday
Up to Monterey
I'm heading back up to Monterey
So I started driving
I begin my journey by car
And left my home behind me
I'm leaving my dwelling place
The row there kept reminding
The line of objects there kept reminding me of something
Of pages in your writing
They reminded me of the pages you had written
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MATTHEW ALBERT COSTA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vowelowl
2024 let's go
Still one of the best songs I've ever heard
@whenigrowup064
coolest artist i've stumbled upon in quite a while
@buuuuuuudy
Yeah I totally agree.. I love the calmness of it all!
@KingFox946
Whos here after 12 years
@profchaos33
it does! especially the beginning.
@sombreropinata
this is awesome and i'm comin to see him in april
@chocskate3
i love this song, and dude i wanna skate that pool sooooo bad
@wsaydah
Great song! Nice energy. Cool venue....
@sombreropinata
i wish i could see that show! i dont live near where he's comin with them =( but ill still see him
@whiteoutittt
Awh I love Matt Costa.