There are many artists who would take a theme of waiting for the world to change for the better, as Iyla Elise does here, and turn it into a “woe is me” anthem to self-pity. But she is smarter, and certainly more positive, than that; her take on things feels more like a reminder that things always change, nightmares have to end sometime, and all you have to do is be strong, and you will get through the bad times. Or, as a wiser person than I once said, “If you find yourself going through hell…keep going!”
“Better Days” is a neat slice of country music, but one that rides on some more driving rock urges, but not at the expense of an almost pop accessibility—Americana, I guess, but the sort of Americana that transcends its genre, a song that isn’t burdened by such a precise geographical tag. It;s bigger than that. It’s better than that.
And the clever thing here is that, although she tells us this is not the world she grew up in, she goes no further than that. The song applies to so many situations —personal, social, global —and if you want to read anything political into it, she certainly isn’t taking sides. It’s just an advocacy for a better time, and in the meantime, she is just going to get on with her life and try to help usher in those times she remembers from the past.
We live in a world where entrenchment and argument have divided us, seemingly irrevocably; hopefully not. The one message that everyone can take away from this song is that the world can be a better place, but only if we want it to be.
