Better Days (Dermot Kennedy song)

In an interview with Songwriter Universe, Kennedy stated he wrote the song in February 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] In September, during his tour of America, he told American Songwriter: "The way I saw it, that was almost the voice of my mother and father telling me to hold out and to know that my music would work out someday. Anytime I felt disheartened, felt down, like it wasn't going to work out—that's where this song sits for me".[3]

In a press release, Kennedy explained: "This is a song about patience. It's about believing in something brighter, and never losing sight of better days, no matter how hard things might get. In a time where so many people feel worried and exhausted, I would love for this song to remind even one person that things will improve. As an artist, I feel somewhat responsible to try to make people feel a little better, whether that’s making them think of someone they love, or just taking their mind off their problems for the length of a song. So this is my contribution to hopefully providing some people with a moment's solace. Better days will come".[4] The song "come[s] with the kind of optimism and hopes Dermot has been so vocal about throughout his career, providing support and solace to so many".[5]

Nora Onanian of WERS wrote that the song "feels like being lifted out of fog. [And] also gives a taste of a new direction Kennedy seems to be going in musically".[6] Ed Power of The Irish Times commented that it "skilfully binds together elements of every popular Irish artist of the past 25 years", like The Script, and " in the choral backing sung in Irish, of The Cranberries at their most ethereal".[7]

The music video was directed by Paul Gore. It showcases Kennedy "fighting a powerful jet stream underwater, push[ing] forward in scenes filled with tension, energy and movement", with him eventually "prevailing in his physical struggle".[8]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[9]

• Clarence Coffee, Jr. – vocal producer
• Curtis Elvidge – vocal producer
• Neil Goody – vocal producer
• Matty Green – engineer, mixing
• Laurence Guy – primary artist
• Scott Harris – composer
• Dermot Kennedy – composer, primary artist, vocals
• Ryan Linvill – drum programming, producer, recording, saxophone, synthesizer programming
• Mitch McCarthy – mixing
• Randy Merrill – mastering engineer
• Daniel Nigro – bass, composer, drum programming, keyboards, piano, producer, vocals (background)
• Chappell Roan – vocals (background)
• Sam Romans – composer
• Carey Willetts – composer, vocal engineer