Rather Be

Album: Forth (2008)
Charted: 56
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Bass player Simon Jones told the New Musical Express January 19 2008 that this track had a "string line looping around three chords all the way through-kind of like 'Bittersweet Symphony' did, although it's not really anything like that."
  • IFrontman Richard Ashcroft explained the song in an interview with BBC DJ Steve Lamacq: "Rather Be is something I wrote at home not that many months before we ended up in the studio with Verve actually and just thought it might be an anthemic tune that they'd enjoy playing and it seems that we did. I suppose, you know, lyrically in a way it's kind of we're bombarded with so much information now. There's too much. You know, there's a point where you have to just switch off, because I don't believe we are sort of wired to be able to take in so much information, we become even numb to it or it makes us very, very fearful of the world outside the door when you've got the rolling news going, you've got all this death and destruction and yet on the other hand, even what it's saying is I'd rather be here, you know, it's, I've said it before, 'We're on a rock in infinity. We're on this planet, man.' It's just, isn't that the miracle? Is this the miracle, the miracle?' Is waking up and looking out? It's very difficult, I think, in the modern age to find time to, or space, to really invest a bit of thought into the fact that you are on a planet in infinity."
  • In the same Steve Lamacq interview guitarist Nick McCabe added: "That song, Rather Be, could probably be taken maybe loads of different ways. The original version of it was like quite psychedelic and quite a lot of headswirl and background loops and sort of messed with your head a little bit but there was a dilemma really that did we take it in the sort of sixties soul vein. There's like a sort of element of maybe, I don't know, Booker T underneath there and, something that I'd like to sort of re-visit a few times actually that. The original version for me is probably my favourite but I think for clarity's sake we ended up going with the song bit. I mean my sort of passion is for things that don't sound quite right really, you know. (Laughter)."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

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."

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Sam Hollander

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.

Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

Lajon Witherspoon of SevendustSongwriter Interviews

The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. Televangelists

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.