Better Place

Album: Wildfire (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Rachel Platten wrote this song when she was living in Los Angeles before she struck gold with "Fight Song." She explained in a track-by-track that where she was living was "a tiny little place on 17th and there was a beautiful tree outside the window... The sunlight would always look really golden and it would make me feel really hopeful about the day, even though things in my life weren't going great."

    Platten added that this song is about "optimism and hope that things might be okay again and that life didn't have to hurt so much."
  • The song was inspired by the relationship between Rachel Platten's sister and her boyfriend. Asked by ABC Radio what her sister thought of the song when she first heard it, Platten replied: "She was so blown away. She played it on loop, that's what she does when she loves a song, she plays it like repeatedly, all night. And she called me and was like, "I've listened to it probably 65 times, I haven't slept, I'm so moved!"
  • Platten's sister and the boyfriend are now wife and husband. They got married in May 2016 and Rachel performed the song at their wedding.

Comments: 2

  • Gracie from Baulkham HillsI love Better place is beutyful powerful Song
  • AnonymousThis song is amazing to listen to, I love to listen to it
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. SchmitSongwriter Interviews

The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.