The music was composed by lead vocalist and rhythm 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).

43 on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) list of the "Top 50 Best Selling Albums of 2005" worldwide.

[8] 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.

[9] Both releases helped Fall Out Boy gain notoriety on the internet and attention from record labels.

However, the group suffered a setback in February 2005 after Wentz's anxieties about creating a new record culminated in a suicide attempt.

"[2] After undergoing therapy, Wentz rejoined the band and headed to Burbank, California to record the album.

[12] In contrast to Take This to Your Grave's rushed recording schedule, Fall Out Boy took a much more gradual pace while working on From Under the Cork Tree.

It was the first Fall Out Boy record in which Stump created all the music and Wentz wrote all the lyrics, continuing the approach they took for some songs on Grave.

"[13] Despite this, the band had great difficulty creating its desired sound for the album, constantly scrapping new material.

[14] 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".

[14] The chorus of "Sugar, We're Goin Down" was nearly thrown away by the group's label, Island Records, but it was ultimately salvaged.

Wentz recalled, "Our label told us the chorus was too wordy and the guitars were too heavy and that the radio wasn't going to play it.

"[15] 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".

"[21] 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".

[14] In 2007, it emerged that the band had reached an out of court settlement with American Nightmare vocalist Wesley Eisold, over the use of his poetry in some songs from From Under the Cork Tree and Infinity on High.

[22] 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.

[23] The story focuses on a bull named Ferdinand who would rather sniff flowers under a cork tree than participate in fights.

This is a reference to the car accident the band was in while they were driving to New York City to film the video for "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy" from their album Take This to Your Grave.

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.

'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.

"[18] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ in one of its "short takes" and called it "Peppy pop-punk aimed at the Warped Tour crowd.

In Rolling Stone's review, they gave it 3 stars out of 5 saying "...FOB's knack for crafting ginormous, soaring anthems is in full-force: even with its demented, inscrutable lyrics, "Sugar, We're Goin Down" will likely still be blasting from radios ten years on.

"[27] Music critic Robert Christgau, in a C+ review of the album, said that "these Warped Tour cover boys aren't terrible, but are they ever ordinary.

Only their record company would claim that emotional vocals, dramatic dynamics, poppy-punky tempos, and not actually all that catchy tunes add up to their own sound.

"[29] IGN was very negative towards the album, giving it a 3.6 out of 10 saying: "Pop-punk had to begin somewhere, and when it rains, it apparently pours; Fall Out Boy is merely another addition to a stable bursting at the seams.

"[20] Rolling Stone listed it among the "40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time" in 2016, with Brittany Spanos writing it "changed the course of emo-punk, pop-punk and pop itself with From Under the Cork Tree, which brought the scene mainstream.

The track received heavy airplay spins on Alternative as well as Pop stations, being a crossover hit.

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.

[41] All lyrics are written by Pete Wentz; all music is composed by Fall Out Boy[42]On March 14, 2006, a separate version of the album was released entitled From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" edition).