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Better Man (Little Big Town song)

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"Better Man"
SinglebyLittle Big Town
from the albumThe Breaker
ReleasedOctober 20, 2016(2016-10-20)
GenreCountry
Length
  • 4:21(album version)
    4:43(music video version)
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)Jay Joyce
Little Big Townsingles chronology
"One of Those Days"
(2016) 		"Better Man"
(2016) 		"Happy People"
(2017)
Music video
"Better Man"onYouTube

"Better Man"is a song by American country groupLittle Big Town.It was released on October 20, 2016, as the lead single from the group's eighth studio album,The Breaker(2017). American singer-songwriterTaylor Swiftwrote the song, intending to include it on her fourth studio album,Red(2012), but the song did not make the final track list. She passed the song to Little Big Town in 2016, believing the group's vocal harmonies suited it.

Produced byJay Joyce,[1]"Better Man" was first performed live at the50th CMA Awardson November 2, 2016. The song won Song of the Year and was nominated for Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards.[2]The song won aGrammy AwardforBest Country Duo/Group Performanceand was nominated forBest Country Songat the60th Annual Grammy Awards.[3]

Swift recorded her version of "Better Man", subtitled in parentheses "(Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)", for her 2021re-recordedalbum,Red (Taylor's Version),which she co-produced withAaron Dessner.

Background[edit]

American singer-songwriterTaylor Swiftis the sole writer of "Better Man", which was written for her 2012 albumRedbut not included on the final tracklist. She would later record her rendition of the song for herre-recording of the album.

The song was written byTaylor Swift.According to group member Karen Fairchild, Swift thought of the group because of the harmonies, and sent the song to them.[4][5]According to Swift, the song was originally intended for her fourth studio albumRed(2012).[6]An unnamed source fromUs Weeklyreported that she sent it to the group in July 2016.[7]

"Better Man" has a play length of 4 minutes and 21 seconds. The song is in a slow tempo of 72beats per minute,written with a 4/4 time signature. It is in the key ofF major,with a chord pattern of F-C-B♭-B♭2-B♭.Karen Fairchild's lead vocal spans from F3to B♭4.[8]

Swift revealed in August 2021 that she would be recording her rendition of "Better Man" for the2021 re-recordingofRed.[9]With it comes a 36-second longer recording and a downward transposition toE major.With the sametempoandtime signature,Swift's vocals range E3to A4.

Music video[edit]

An accompanying music video was directed by Becky Fluke and Reid Long and premiered on November 1, 2016.[10]Set in a rural household, the video depicts three generations of single parents whose partners ultimately leave them.[11]The cycle is presumably broken at the end, when Philip Sweet's character has a baby girl and makes an effort to be a better role model.[11]

Critical reception[edit]

Kevin John Coyne ofCountry Universerated the song "A", saying that "It’s a concept that is grounded in so much truth that I’m amazed I’ve never heard it approached this way before" and "The writers do a great job of capturing both why [the song's narrator] stayed so long and why she had to leave, and all of the conflicting feelings that go along with that."[12]Taste of Countrywriter Billy Dukes also praised the song, saying that "This song isn’t as jarring as some of the quartet’s most recent hits. In fact, the mistreatment of women is only vaguely alluded to — there’s no one line that burns the hair off the back of your neck. Jay Joyce’s arrangement is soft but not stark. It’s among his more mainstream productions. Still, it’s clear Fairchild’s protagonist is reeling from a love that went very, very wrong."[13]Taste of Countryranked it the 42nd best country song of the 2010s.[14]

Accolades[edit]

Year Association Category Result
2017 BillboardMusic Awards[15] Top Country Song Nominated
CMT Music Awards[16] Group Video of the Year Won
Video of the Year Nominated
CMA Awards[2] Single of the Year Nominated
Song of the Year Won
Music Video of the Year Nominated
2018 Grammy Awards[17] Best Country Duo/Group Performance Won
Best Country Song Nominated
ACM Awards[18] Single Record of the Year Nominated

Commercial performance[edit]

The song sold 6,000 copies on its first day of release, enough to allow the song to enter the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 41.[19][20]It sold 20,000 the following week, and rose to No. 20 in the chart.[20][21]In its third week it sold a further 47,000 copies and climbed further to No. 6.[22]On the Hot Country Songs chart dated February 11, 2017, "Better Man" reached number one, earning the group their third leader. It spent two weeks at No. 1 before being dethroned by "Body Like A Back Road"bySam Hunt.[23]The song was certified platinum in the United States by the RIAA on August 23, 2017.[24]The song has sold 772,000 copies in the United States as of February 2018.[25]

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits adapted fromTidal.[26]

  • Little Big Town– vocals
  • Taylor Swift– songwriter
  • Jay Joyce– producer, programmer, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, percussion, mixer
  • Jaxon Hargrove – assistant recording engineer
  • Jimmy Mansfield – assistant recording engineer
  • Jason Hall – engineer
  • Richard Dodd – mastering engineer

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for "Better Man"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Gold 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[37] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions[edit]

Swift performed "Better Man" at Club Nomadic inHoustonas part of theDirecTVSpecial, Super Saturday Night on February 4, 2017.[38]She also performed it on March 31, 2018, at theBluebird CaféinNashville, Tennessee,and on August 25, 2018, at herReputation Stadium Tourstop atNissan Stadiumin Nashville.[39]Swift performed "Better Man" as a surprise song on May 19, 2023, at the firstEras Tourshow inFoxborough, Massachusetts.[40]

On February 15, 2017,Chase Bryantrecorded a cover version of the song, which changed the grammatical narrative from second person to first. Bryant's rendition was described favorably by bothBillboardandRolling Stonefor the change in the song's perspective, as well as the harmonies provided byRunaway June.[41][42]

"Better Man (Taylor's Version)"[edit]

"Better Man (Taylor's Version)"
SongbyTaylor Swift
from the albumRed (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedNovember 12, 2021(2021-11-12)
GenreCountry
Length4:57
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"Better Man (Taylor's Version)"onYouTube

Swift recorded "Better Man", subtitled "(Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)", for her second re-recorded album,Red (Taylor's Version),released on November 12, 2021, throughRepublic Records.[43]The re-recorded "Better Man" was produced by Swift andAaron Dessner.It also featureslap steel guitarand theLondon Contemporary Orchestra,arranged byBryce Dessner.[44]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Better Man (Taylor's Version)"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[45] 36
Global 200(Billboard)[46] 46
UK Audio Streaming(OCC)[47] 98
USBillboardHot 100[48] 51
USHot Country Songs(Billboard)[49] 13

Certification[edit]

Certification for "Better Man (Taylor's Version)"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[50] Gold 35,000‡

‡Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

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  2. ^abWeatherby, Taylor (September 4, 2017)."Keith Urban & Miranda Lambert Lead 2017 CMA Awards Nominees, Taylor Swift Earns First Nomination in Three Years".Billboard.RetrievedSeptember 4,2017.
  3. ^Los Angeles Times Staff (November 29, 2017)."Grammys 2018 Complete List of Nominees".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 28, 2017.RetrievedNovember 29,2017.
  4. ^Vulpo, Mike (November 1, 2016)."Who Did Taylor Swift Write" Better Man "About? We Investigate the Lyrics for Little Big Town's New Single".E! Online.Archivedfrom the original on May 14, 2017.RetrievedDecember 2,2016.
  5. ^"Why didn't Taylor Swift keep 'Better Man' for herself? Little Big Town says, 'We didn't ask'".SiriusXM: Hear & Now.November 15, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on June 19, 2019.RetrievedJune 19,2019.
  6. ^"Taylor Swift Talks Newfound 'Freedom,' 'Lover' Tour Plans and So Much More".On Air with Ryan Seacrest.August 27, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on April 8, 2020.RetrievedAugust 27,2019.
  7. ^Taylor Swift - Her Last Word.Us Weekly. 2016.
  8. ^"'Better Man' sheet music ".musicnotes.com.November 2016.Archivedfrom the original on February 19, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 18,2017.
  9. ^Swift, Taylor [@taylorswift](August 6, 2021)."I know some of you thought that would be like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer BUT...you played it good & right. Congrats pals, you guessed the correct titles and feature artists on Red (my version). The vault tracks will feature @chrisstapleton, @phoebebridgers, @markfoster and the first song @teddysphotos and I ever wrote together the first time we met in 2012❗️I can't express my gratitude enough to these artists for helping me bring these songs to life. I can't wait til we can dust off our highest hopes and relive these memories together. We'll also be making a bunch of new ones too, since Red (Taylor's Version) includes so many songs you haven't heard yet. Til then, I'll be counting down and picturing it all in my head. In burning red. Red (Taylor's Version) out November 19. Pre-order now".RetrievedAugust 6,2021– viaInstagram.
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  11. ^abWicks, Amanda (November 1, 2016)."Little Big Town Premiere 'Better Man' Music Video".Radio.com.CBS Corporation.Archived fromthe originalon April 19, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 5,2017.
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  41. ^Aniftos, Rania (February 15, 2017)."Chase Bryant Shares Introspective Cover of Little Big Town's Taylor Swift-Penned 'Better Man': Listen".Billboard.RetrievedFebruary 18,2017.
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