The Beatles’ cover of Carl Perkins’ 1956 hit ‘Matchbox’ was first released in the UK on their Long Tall Sally EP, and in the US as a single, coupled with ‘Slow Down’. It was also released on the Something New album.
‘Matchbox’ was based on ‘Match Box Blues’, a 12-bar blues recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927. Re-imagined by Perkins, it was first recorded at Sun Records in December 1956.
Perkins claimed he hadn’t heard Jefferson’s song when he recorded ‘Matchbox’. However, both songs contain the lines: “I’m sittin’ here wonderin’, will a matchbox hold my clothes/I ain’t got no matches but I still got a long way to go.”
‘Matchbox’ had been one of Pete Best’s solo vocal spot in The Beatles’ live shows from 1961, and was taken over by John Lennon when Best was fired from the group.
The Beatles recorded ‘Matchbox’ on two occasions for BBC radio, both with Ringo Starr singing.
The first was for Pop Go The Beatles on 10 July 1963. This version can be heard on the Live At The BBC collection. The other songs performed during the show were ‘Memphis, Tennessee’, ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘Please Mister Postman’, and ‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’.
The second BBC recording was made on 1 May 1964, for the From Us To You show. The other songs were ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!’, ‘I Forgot To Remember To Forget’, ‘You Can’t Do That’, ‘Sure To Fall (In Love With You)’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, and ‘Honey Don’t’.
In June 1964, The Beatles were considering which songs to record for their third long player, A Hard Day’s Night. ‘Matchbox’ was intended to be Starr’s feature on the album, but was later deemed surplus to requirements and so it appeared on the Long Tall Sally EP.
In the studio
Carl Perkins was on tour in Britain in 1964, and on 1 June he was visiting Abbey Road when The Beatles recorded his song. There are rumours he played the low guitar riff that opens the song.
It took The Beatles five takes to perfect. Ringo Starr played drums and sang simultaneously, and later double-tracked his vocals.
On the same night the group also recorded ‘I’ll Cry Instead’, ‘Slow Down’, and ‘I’ll Be Back’.
Lyrics
I said I’m sitting here watching
Matchbox hole in my clothes
I said I’m sitting here wondering
Matchbox hole in my clothes
I ain’t got no matches
But I sure got a long way to go
I’m an old poor boy, and I’m a
Long way from home
I’m an old poor boy, and I’m a
Long way from home
I’ll never be happy
’cause everything I ever did was wrong
Well, if you don’t want my peaches, honey
Please don’t shake my tree
Well, if you don’t want Ringo’s peaches, honey
Please don’t mess around my tree
I got news for you, baby
Leave me here in misery
Well, let me be your little dog
Till your big dog comes
Well, let me be your little dog
Till your big dog comes
And when your big dog gets here
Watch how your puppy dog runs
I said I’m sitting here watching
Matchbox hole in my clothes
I said I’m sitting here watching
Matchbox hole in my clothes
I ain’t got no matches but I sure
Got a long way to go
Is it not John playing the lead guitar break?
Yes it is. George played rhythm on a 12 string on this song.
Through the days this song (along with “Slow down” & “Long tall Sally”) was recorded George was using his 12 strings Rickenbacker, but this can´t be heard on any of these songs (only in “I call your name” to name the 4 songs EP “Long…”) Does it mean he wasn´t present, maybe ill or something, and the solos were all played by John ?
George’s Rickenbacker is definitely there in this song – although it’s very low in the mix, you can hear it in the ’09 remaster.
John plays the lead guitar. Riff and everything. George plays the 12 string rhythm. If not then John actually picked up his 325/12 in this song. Either way there is both a shock of this song. John playing lead or his 12 string
I love how poorly the Ringo double track comes off… maybe it is intentional or just all that graet reverb… but I love how you hear phrases begin and such a couple of times, or hear two distinct Ringo’s or Ringo echoes.
I’ve noticed that you put in the lyrics for this song, but I haven’t noticed lyrics on any other pages…are you slowly going through and adding lyrics? It would be a nice touch.
Only for cover versions. I don’t want to get on the wrong side of Apple etc, so no Beatles lyrics.
heard Carl say onetime what the origonal version of the lyrics were and they were changed quite a bit when the Beatles recorded it
Thanks for an interesting website! 🙂
The Beatles got the lyrics wrong on “Matchbox”. This has been pointed out by Carl Perkins himself to Paul McCartney.
It should read; “I’m sittin’ here wondering will a matchbox hold my clothes” and so on. That makes more sence also.
Check out this great documentary on YouTube (My Old Friend) and you will see Carl setting Paul straight. 🙂
I sometimes wonder if inaccurate lyrics such as these are a result of them having to learn the song by ear – note the similar ‘problem’ with Long Tall Sally. It’s quite interesting, in that it almost becomes their own variation on the original.
Truth be told, the Star-Club version of this has more balls to it than either the EMI or BBC versions.
I’ve always wondered where the “peach tree” lyric came from. I was your typical “beatlemaniac” and had never heard any of the Beatles covers before I heard their versions. So, when I played Carl Perkin’s recording of the song, I was surprised to find that verse missing. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks!
Pretty sure it’s in the Jerry Lee Lewis version of the song. Not sure where he got it from.
In 1964, listening to the Something New album on my little mono player (manual needle arm, very small speaker), I thought the “peach tree “line was followed by “please don’t take my cream” (ahh, the mind of a teenager!).
Regarding ‘Matchbox’…at that time I thought it was out of place for the Beatles to do rockabilly. This was before I developed an appreciation for the genre. Later, I read that Ringo had a warm spot in his heart for rockabilly and, what was then called “country and western”. (e.g., Honey Don’t, Act Naturally, What Goes On, Don’t Pass Me By) .
For a treat, check out this … a few guys messing around in a Nashville studio, doing Matchbox — Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Carl Perkins.
Long Tall Sally is also the 3rd and final Canadian Beatles LP on Capitol, until Canada was forced to release the US LP versions
Listening to the BBC version. Sounds like Ringo incites John verbally… maybe as a reference to the record?
But on the bbc version… that sounds like George’s playing and riffs if I ever heard it.. Listen to ‘Everybodys Tryin To Be My Baby’ from shea stadium. It’s almost the same solo. lol and I’m 99% certain that is a hollowbody. The rick would not have that boxy Gretche tone. it was more biting and trebly in comparison.
The only way its John is if he’s using George’s guitar and george taught him how to play it. lol
The Beatles “Matchbox”/”Slow Down” was actually released in the U.S. as a single on August 24, 1964, not July 24.
You’re right about the single release. However, it was also on the Something New album, which came out on 20 July (not 24 July; I’m not sure where you got that date from).
Aren’t their three handclaps at 0:02? I think you forgot them in the personnel.
Contradicting theory to put out here, I believe that George and John BOTH played the guitar solo. Why? Because there are two different guitars playing two different styles of a lead break simultaneously. On the 2009 CD reissue of Past Masters, the solo section starts out with two guitars playing and eventually fades out one of the guitars, leaving the one that sounds like George with its quick-noted figures. However, I’ve heard the other solo on its entirety on the mono mix of the song; it sounds a lot like John’s style, more choppy and Chuck Berry-like. John had played the lead guitar solo back in the Hamburg and early BBC days anyway (you can hear Ringo shout encouragingly on one of the BBC recordings “All right, John!”), but maybe since Mr. Perkins was there in the studio George wanted to try his hand at a lead break as well? Who knows!
I agree with you – perhaps George wanted to play it in unison with John, especially in front of his idol Carl Perkins.
With John playing the solo, perhaps it was either double lead guitars between him and George or duelling guitars that complemented each other with no strict boundaries on who was lead (George) or rhythm (John), very much like what Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison did in The Velvet Underground.
John played lead guitar and the main riff on this song, not George. George played rhythm on the 12 string
I’m not sure how realistic that is – I have listened to the guitar solo and it clearly resembles George’s Gretsch, so perhaps he and John played it in unison or he double-tracked it. I don’t think it’s likely that George would’ve swapped rhythm and lead roles with John, not when his idol Carl Perkins was in attendance.
Its always great to hear an eyewitness account . Thank you !