Better Days

Album: Let Love In (2005)
Charted: 36
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about changing the world and making it a better place. The song was released as a single in September 2005, as America was recovering from Hurricane Katrina and dealing with an unpopular war in Iraq. This hopeful song provided reassurance in a troubling time. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Jonathan - Houston, TX
  • This was originally commissioned for a Target holiday CD. Instead of the usual rock-style Christmas cover, Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik wrote a new tune inspired by the state of American politics. "Right now, I feel as though there's a huge amount of unfairness going on in this country and it's really starting to annoy me," he told MTV News in 2005. "I know I'm not an authority on it, but I just wanted to speak my piece - I don't know if I'm speaking for anyone else, although that would be nice."

    A few days after it was recorded, someone at CNN heard the track and picked it up as the theme song for the network's coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Let Love In is the band's eighth studio album. Their previous release, Gutterflower, was largely inspired by Rzeznik's divorce and his move to Los Angeles, where he struggled with culture clash. This time around, he wanted to tap into positive energy. "You know, it was a really strange time in my life when we made that record," he said of Gutterflower. "I was really unhappy at the time, but it's like, who cares? I did feel like I was losing sight of what we were supposed to be doing, and now I feel as though I've regained my traction."
  • This was used on the TV shows Cold Case ("Ghost Of My Child" - 2008) and Jericho ("Pilot" - 2006). It was also used in the 2011 movie New Year's Eve.
  • The band collaborated with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres to create a video set to this tune for the hockey team's 2007 pursuit of the Stanley Cup. The clip featured shots of the city and was screened on the HSBC Arena's jumbotron before each playoff game.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he Inspired

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he InspiredSong Writing

Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Evolution Of The Prince Symbol

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.