"If You're Gone" is a song by American rock band Matchbox Twenty. The song, written by the band's frontman, Rob Thomas, was included on their second studio album, Mad Season (2000). In the United States, it was released alongside "Crutch" as the album's second and third single simultaneously on September 18, 2000—"If You're Gone" was sent to pop radio while "Crutch" was sent to rock formats. "If You're Gone" reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and also became a hit on adult contemporary radio, spending two weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Background and writing Rob Thomas told Billboard magazine that he wrote the song right after he met his future wife. "We were separated for a few weeks and were on the phone all the time, and I was thinking, 'I met this wonderful person', and I wondered if everything I was going through [with Matchbox Twenty's success] was going to make it too crazy to build a relationship."
Chart performance In the United States, "If You're Gone" debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated October 21, 2000. It began to rise up the chart, eventually reaching a peak of number five on January 27, 2001. As of , it is tied with "Unwell" as the band's second-highest-charting single on the Hot 100, and it is also their second-longest-staying single (behind "Unwell"), remaining on the listing for 42 weeks. It was the sixth-most-successful single of 2001 in the US. On the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, it stayed at number one for two nonconsecutive weeks in 2001, and on the Adult Top 40 listing, it held the top spot for 13 issues, from December 13, 2000, to March 17, 2001.Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications) In Canada, the single peaked at number 27 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart before the magazine ceased publication; because it was not released on a physical format in Canada, it did not appear on the Canadian Singles Chart.
Worldwide, the song found the most success in New Zealand. Despite peaking at number 12 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, it remained in the top 50 for 34 weeks between November 2000 and July 2001. At the end of 2001, it was ranked as New Zealand's 11th-best-performing song. On the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, the song first appeared at number 48 on October 29, 2000, and took 13 more weeks to reach its peak position of number 18. In Europe, "If You're Gone" was a top-40 hit in Ireland, where it reached number 36, but charted weakly elsewhere, peaking at number 50 in the United Kingdom, number 84 in Germany, and number 95 in the Netherlands. In 2019, the song experienced a resurgence of popularity in Japan, reaching number 84 on the Japan Hot 100.
Music video The music video for the song, directed by Pedro Romhanyi, is filmed completely in black and white and features only the band (along with two trumpet players and a trombone player), performing at night on the rooftop of a building in the central business district of downtown Los Angeles. Halfway through the video, Rob Thomas steps onto the edge of the roof and spreads his arms like he's going to jump. He doesn't; he turns around and goes back to where the band is playing. Near the end of the video, the sun dawns and illuminates the rooftop and surrounding buildings of the city.
Track listings UK CD single "If You're Gone" (edit) – 4:21 "If You're Gone" (album version) – 4:33 "Bent" (live) – 4:36
European CD single "If You're Gone" (edit) – 4:21 "Bent" (live) – 4:36
Australian maxi-CD single "If You're Gone" (album version) "Bent" (live) "Back 2 Good" (live)
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2000–2001)PeakpositionCanada CHR (Nielsen BDS)2Croatia (HRT)4Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)16 Chart (2019)Peakposition
Year-end charts Chart (2000)PositionUS Adult Top 40 (Billboard)61US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)94 Chart (2001)PositionCanada Radio (Nielsen BDS)4New Zealand (RIANZ)11US Billboard Hot 1006US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)3US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)1US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)19US Triple-A (Billboard)27 Chart (2002)PositionUS Adult Contemporary (Billboard)4
Certifications
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)AustraliaSeptember 2000CDUnited StatesSeptember 18, 2000September 19, 2000Contemporary hit radioUnited KingdomFebruary 5, 2001
Notes
See also List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2001
References