From Under the Cork Tree is the second studio album by the American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on May 3, 2005, by Island Records as the band's major label debut. The music was composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump, with all lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, expanding the band's songwriting approach they took for some songs on their debut album, Take This to Your Grave (2003). Neal Avron served as the album's producer. Commenting on the record's lyrical themes, Wentz said the lyrics were about "the anxiety and depression that goes along with looking at your own life." It logged 14 weeks in the Top 20 out of its 78 chart weeks. The album as well as its singles won several awards and the album was certified 5× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 5 million units in the United States. The album produced two hugely popular hit singles, "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance", which peaked at No. 8 and No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively, receiving regular radio play on both pop and alternative stations. In 2005, the album was ranked at No. 43 on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) list of the "Top 50 Best Selling Albums of 2005" worldwide.

Background

Fall Out Boy formed near Chicago, Illinois, in 2001. The band debuted with a self-released demo in the same year, and in 2002 released a split EP with Project Rocket through Uprising Records. A first mini-album, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend was recorded in 2002 but released in 2003 by Uprising against the band's wishes. Both releases helped Fall Out Boy gain notoriety on the internet and attention from record labels. The band signed with indie label Fueled by Ramen and received an advance from major label Island Records, which financed the production of Take This to Your Grave. Fall Out Boy returned to the studio in November 2004 to begin work on a new album.

However, the group suffered a setback in February 2005 after Wentz's anxieties about creating a new record culminated in a suicide attempt. Wentz explained, "It was overwhelming. I was either totally anxious or totally depressed. It is particularly overwhelming when you are on the cusp of doing something very big and thinking that it will be a big flop. I was racked with self-doubt." The group lived in corporate housing during the making of the album. He explained: "We haven't had any of those moments when I play the music and he'll say, 'I don't like that,' and he'll read me lyrics and I'll say, 'I don't like those lyrics.' It's very natural and fun." Two weeks before recording sessions began, the group abandoned ten songs and wrote eight more, including the album's first single, "Sugar, We're Goin Down". Island Records also intervened when the band wanted to title the album's first track "My Name Is David Ruffin And These Are The Temptations". Wentz stated "Our label said, 'You're going to get sued for doing that,' and our lawyer said, 'You're definitely going to get sued for doing that,' which totally sucked. So we said, 'OK, why don't we immortalize you in a song?'" Niyaz Pirani of the Orange County Register referred to "Dance, Dance" as "pop-punk-meets-swing-dance glory". Critics have described the album as being pop-punk

Lyrics

On earlier works, Stump collaborated with Wentz on the lyrics. For From Under the Cork Tree and albums thereafter, Wentz handled all the lyrical duties. He called them "more introspective" than the group's previous album. "Take This To Your Grave was very reactionary," Wentz said. "It was like this person does this to you. But part of growing up is understanding that if you end up in the same situation over and over again you probably have to examine your own self and wonder whether that's one of the reasons that you have ended up in the same situation repeatedly. This time the lyrics were more about the anxiety and depression that goes along with looking at your own life." Wentz described "I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea that Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)" as "looking in the mirror and not feeling safe in your own skin".

Title and artwork

The title is taken from a line in the 1936 children's book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, which Wentz was intrigued by. The story focuses on a bull named Ferdinand who would rather sniff flowers under a cork tree than participate in fights.

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| rev3 = The Boston Phoenix

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| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly

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| rev5 = IGN

| rev5Score = 3.6/10

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| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

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| rev10 = The Village Voice

| rev10Score = C+

Critical reaction to From Under the Cork Tree was generally positive. In an extremely positive review of the album, Johnny Loftus of AllMusic said: "Musically, Cork Tree's first five tracks are relentless, with razor-sharp melodies that seem familiar but sound totally unique at the same time. The 'Oh! Oh!'s and punchy chords of 'Of All the Gin Joints in All the World' are a thrill greater than any Jimmy Eat World album ever; 'Sugar, We're Going Down' 's half-time shifts are triumphs of tumbling words; and the opening track meditates wryly on all-ages shows' fame. Further, when Fall Out Boy rip into 'Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year,' summer 2005 will not be able to ignore them. 'We're the therapists pumping through your speakers/Delivering just what you need,' they sing. It's obviously time to embrace our inner mall kid."

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|Rock Sound

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| The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time

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| Rolling Stone

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| 40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time

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Commercial performance

From Under the Cork Tree debuted at No. 9 on the US Billboard 200 with 68,000 copies sold in its first week. It became the band's first top 10 effort, as their 2003 album Take This to Your Grave did not chart in the top 200. Logging 78 weeks on the chart, Cork Tree has sold over 5 million copies in the US and over seven million worldwide, making it Fall Out Boy's best selling album. It is certified RIAA 5× platinum for shipments of five million copies. Upon the release of Fall Out Boy's 2007 follow-up album Infinity on High, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, From Under the Cork Tree re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 168 with 5,300 sales. In early 2015, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 190 for a 78th week on the strength of the band's American Beauty/American Psycho No. 1 album release.

On the 2005 year-end charts, Cork Tree was No. 53 on the Billboard 200, No. 26 in 2006, and No. 187 on the 2000s decade-end chart.

Singles

Three singles were released from this album: "Sugar, We're Goin Down", "Dance, Dance" and "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"". The first two singles enjoyed mainstream and commercial success and exposed Fall Out Boy to a new audience. From Under the Cork Trees lead single, "Sugar, We're Goin Down", debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at No. 93 and eleven weeks later it peaked at No. 8 in September 2005. It spent five weeks in the top 10 and 20 weeks (five months) in the top 20, logging a total of 42 weeks on the chart before it was retired. The track received heavy airplay spins on Alternative as well as Pop stations, being a crossover hit. It reached No. 3 on Billboard Alternative Songs. Its MTV2-award-winning video enjoyed regular rotation on TV music programs. This exposed the band to the mainstream audience and helped them reach great popularity. In the UK, "Sugar" also reached No. 8, and spent 21 weeks in the top 75. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" has sold over two million copies in the US and was certified Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting the shipment of three million copies. It stands as the band's best-selling single to date.

The second single from the album, "Dance, Dance" was also released to commercial success, charting at No. 9 in the US in January 2006 and No. 8 in the UK, a second top 10 hit single for the band in both regions. In the US it spent 14 weeks in the top 20 out of a total of 30 chart weeks before it was retired, being certified Platinum by the RIAA for the shipment of one million units. "Dance, Dance" is Fall Out Boy's highest hit on Alternative radio, peaking at No. 2 on Billboard Alternative Songs. It charted at No. 35 on Ireland's singles chart. "Dance, Dance"'s music video won awards for "Viewer's Choice" and "Best Group" at the 2006 MTV awards, two Teen Choice Awards for "Rock Track" and "Single", and helped the band win "People's Choice: Favorite International Group" at the MuchMusic Video Awards.

"A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"", the album's third and last single, was much less popular than Cork Trees first two singles but managed to reach No. 65 on the Hot 100. It charted for 13 weeks. On Billboard Alternative Songs, it peaked at No. 38. In the UK, "Sixteen Candles" reached No. 38 on the singles chart. The band considered between "A Little Less Sixteen Candles..." and "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year" as the third and last single, deciding on the former.

Track listing

;Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" edition

On March 14, 2006, a separate version of the album was released entitled From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" edition). This consisted of a total 18 tracks, the first 13 being the original release. The album rose to No. 9 on the Billboard 200 upon its re-release, its second week at its peak position. The three new songs and two dance remixes are as follows and in this order:

  • The iTunes Store released a similar From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition) EP consisting of 8 tracks: the above 5 as well as the music videos for "Sugar We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance". It also contains a live performance of "Sugar, We're Goin Down".
  • The limited edition is sometimes sold along with the regular edition under the same name.
  • The album was re-pressed on vinyl in January 2013. It was on swirled Maroon vinyl, and limited to 1,500 copies, and exclusively sold at Hot Topic.
  • A 20th Anniversary deluxe edition was released on October 17, 2025.

Personnel

All credits for From Under the Cork Tree are adapted from the album's liner notes, except where noted.

Fall Out Boy

  • Patrick Stump – vocals, guitar, piano on "Sugar, We're Goin Down"
  • Pete Wentz – bass, backing vocals, unclean vocals (1, 8, 10, 12–14)
  • Joe Trohman – guitar, backing vocals
  • Andy Hurley – drums, percussion

Guest musicians

  • William Beckett (of The Academy Is...) – additional vocals on "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year"
  • Brendon Urie (of Panic! at the Disco) – additional vocals on "7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)"
  • Chad Gilbert (of New Found Glory) – additional vocals on "I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written about Me"

Production

  • Neal Avron – producer, mixing (1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13)
  • Tom Lord-Alge – mixing (2–4, 8, 11)
  • Matt Green – mixing assistant (1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13)
  • George Combs – mixing assistant (1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13)
  • Femio Hernandez – mixing assistant (2–4, 8, 11)
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
  • Travis Huff – Pro Tools engineer
  • Louis Marino – creative direction
  • Frank Gargiulo – art direction and album design

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Weekly chart performance for From Under the Cork Tree

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! scope="col"| Chart (2005–2006)

! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position

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|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! align="center"| Chart (2025)

! align="center"| Peak<br />position

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! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)

| 81

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2005 year-end chart performance for From Under the Cork Tree

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (2005)

! scope="col"| Position

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! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 53

|-

!scope="row"|Worldwide Albums (IFPI)

|43

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2006 year-end chart performance for From Under the Cork Tree

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! scope="col"| Chart (2006)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 80

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 26

|-

! scope="row"| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)

| 13

|}

Decade-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Decade-end chart performance for From Under the Cork Tree

|-

!Chart (2000–2009)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"| US Billboard 200

|187

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Certifications

References

; Citations

;Sources

<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->

  • From Under the Cork Tree at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
  • Absolutepunk.net Interview with Pete Wentz, Part 2
  • MTV.com Article on From Under the Cork Tree