Better Than I Used To Be

Album: Crazytalk (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song came about when Mat Kearney was on a writing trip in LA and he met AFSHeeN and Josh Cumbee who both previously worked with Madonna on her Rebel Heart album. Kearney said: "AFSHeeN was like a really talented electronic artist and we just were talking about being away from people you love and chasing your dreams you have, and the price you pay to do that."

    He added: "The line, 'Things don't go just the way you planned it but I never thought we'd have so much to take for granted' kind of summed up the song like you gotta go for it and it's hard but ultimately I'm better than I used to be."
  • Mat Kearney said regarding the song's meaning: "It's about growing, chasing a dream and how hard that can be sometimes. Chasing this dream of mine is something you all have allowed me to do over the years."
  • The song was released on November 10, 2017. It was Kearney's first new music since his 2015 album Just Kids. He explained the delay: "I know it's been a while. I didn't think it would take quite this long to get the music to you but a lot of unexpected things happened this year - bringing a human into this world and starting an independent label to name a few."

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