The American Rock band Evanescence is gearing up to release a brand new studio album–a long time coming. They just released the fifth single off the album, “Better Without You” ahead of the album release. This new single is a personal count of what the lead singer, Amy Lee, and the band itself had to overcome throughout their journey so far.
Evanescence announced their fifth studio album ‘The Bitter Truth,’ scheduled to be released on March 26, 2021. The album follows their previous work ‘Synthesis’ from 2017. However, ‘Synthesis’ was a remix album of their previously released material. Hence, ‘The Bitter Truth’ album will be the band’s first original material released since their third studio album ‘Evanescence’ released in 2011.
The musical arrangement of “Better Without You” takes you back to the good ol’ days of Evanescence at its peak. The track has the classic Evanescence musical and vocal imprint all over it.
Lead singer, Amy Lee, talked about the song in an Instagram post;
This song is about my journey, and some of what I had to overcome to get where I am, and where our band is, today. I’ve fought many battles for my self and my music which are very intertwined (some of them internal). Each verse is for a different obstacle along the way, starting in the past and ending in the present. There are parts of my story you don’t know unless you know me, and yes, verse 2 is for some of my experiences in the industry, but don’t get it twisted- this is deeper and darker than that. Obviously I still have some things from way back to get off my chest. I hope it serves to empower others who have been made to feel powerless.
Don’t let the voices telling you you’re not good enough live in your head. Don’t let them write your story. Don’t ever let fear stop you from being who you were born to be. That fear… I am. We are. Better without you.
Listen to “Better Without You” by Evanescence
Buy ‘The Bitter Truth’ Album on Apple Music & Amazon
“Better Without You” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
Amy Lee has been the one constant in the journey of Evanescence as a band. But she had to crawl through the underbelly of the music industry to establish herself as a ‘leader’ in a band. In an interview in 2016, Amy Lee discussed misogyny in the industry; “It’s hard to be a woman in the rock industry. People want to see you as the girl next door. It’s not that people don’t like you or aren’t nice to you. But they also don’t want you to tell them what to do because they actually don’t expect that you really know what to do.”
In the lyrics, Amy Lee tells us how she was the lead singer and the ‘frontman’ of the band on stage. But the industry did not want her taking calls for the band behind the curtains.
‘Cause this is my world, little girl, you’d be lost on your own
These are the harsh words of the industry reaching into the artistry and personal space of musicians, especially female artists. Amy Lee says that she had to step back for a bit, gritting her teeth, and waiting for a better time to rise up. Maybe, the time is now.
Verse 2
In the second verse of “Better Without You,” Amy Lee points out how she was made to be a puppet of the industry, possibly by her former record label. The lyric “sign on the line” signifies signing the record label contract, which is a big deal for an artist starting out their career. However, these lengthy and usually quite complicated legal contracts are drawn very much in favor of the record label.
Taylor Swift has an ongoing legal battle with her former record label Big Machine Records for owning and not releasing rights to her first six albums. Kanye West released all the pages of his contract in a protest to stand up against record labels owning the masters to artists’ songs. “Tik Tok” hit-maker Kesha sued her former music producer, Dr. Luke, for “sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse.” So, record labels trying to manipulate artists is nothing new in the music industry.
So, the story told by Amy Lee in this song is nothing out of the disgusting reality of the music industry.
Chorus
A king is nothing without his people working to keep the kingdom running. And a record label is nothing without its artists who pour blood, sweat, and tears to make new music, sacrifice so much to tour the world, and sell their music. Also, Evanescence’s former record label ‘Wind-Up Records’ had to wind up operations in 2016. Wind-Up’s biggest artists were Evanescence, Evanescence, and Evanescence. And the record label got sued by Amy Lee in 2014, for withheld royalties up to $1.5 million.
It makes me smile to know that
I’m better without you
In 2014, Amy Lee announced that Evanescence’s contract with Wind-Up Records have ended and she will be continuing as an independent artist.
Verse 3
In her Instagram post about the song, Amy Lee mentioned that the song transitions from the past to the present, which makes the third verse about her thoughts on her present situation.
In these lyrics, Amy Lee talks about how tables have turned throughout the years. From her associates to her record label, all the parties who once blew wind onto ongoing fires, are now themselves burnt into ashes. And what these people don’t realize is, that the fires that they contribute to, not only burn themselves but also hurts everyone around them. However, had they any concern for anything, they wouldn’t have acted in erratic ways, to begin with.
Throughout the song, one thing that quite apparent is that Amy Lee is definitely in a better mental state right now. Rarely do we see happy endings in the music industry when artists are under pressure. But we are definitely happy about where Amy Lee and Evanescence are right now.
Sometimes, we are all better without that one person in our lives!
Let us hear what you think about the song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.
That beautiful woman is not fat! She has a perfect weight for her age & she could totally take a sick mouthed Amy “Moo” & knock that fat miserable comment out of your mouth!
It about how fat she is.
That’s funny coming from a person called Amy Moo.
Lol! High five dfc! LOL!