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

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.