by Simon Cleary
The Experience: Clean Bandit mixes classical-style violins with EDM AND with Jess Glynne's voice. The resulting Rather Be is both sweet and melancholic (thanks to Jess and the violins) but also bouncingly upbeat and happy (thanks to the electro-beat and the G-minor chord).
Music Video: The ordinary life of a cook in Tokyo starts becoming extraordinary. She obsesses about the song Rather Be, and starts seeing Clean Bandit band members everywhere. Ever felt like a song's always with you? Not just because it's always being played on every radio station, but more because you so identify with the words and the rhythm that you can't stop hearing it in your heart. (Personal tip: Identify those songs, the songs that are YOUR songs, and you can identify who you really are. Your music reveals your identity. Let your songs tell you who you are.)
The meaning of Clean Bandit's Rather Be is love determining everything in your life. It's more important than pleasure: "We're a thousand miles from comfort... There's no place I'd rather be." It's more important than time: "I would wait forever... As long as I am with you." It's more important than place "When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be."
Love is meant to be about making that special other's differences your complement: "We're different and the same, Get you another name."
Ask Yourself: What is the song or person that makes me feel "there's no place I'd rather be?"
LYRICS:
We're a thousand miles from comfort,
We have traveled land and sea
But as long as you are with me,
There's no place I'd rather be
I would wait forever,
Exalted in the scene
As long as I am with you,
My heart continues to beat
With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay
Strolling so casually
We're different and the same,
Get you another name
Switch up the batteries
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart,
You can't shake me
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
We staked out on a mission
To find our inner peace
Make it everlasting so nothing's incomplete
It's easy being with you, sacred simplicity
As long as we're together,
There's no place I'd rather be
With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay
Strolling so casually
We're different and the same,
Get you another name
Switch up the batteries
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart,
You can't shake me
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
Hmmmmmmmmmm, hoooooooooo
Be... Be be be be be be be be
Yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah, yeah, yeah
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart,
You can't shake me
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
We have traveled land and sea
But as long as you are with me,
There's no place I'd rather be
I would wait forever,
Exalted in the scene
As long as I am with you,
My heart continues to beat
With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay
Strolling so casually
We're different and the same,
Get you another name
Switch up the batteries
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart,
You can't shake me
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
We staked out on a mission
To find our inner peace
Make it everlasting so nothing's incomplete
It's easy being with you, sacred simplicity
As long as we're together,
There's no place I'd rather be
With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay
Strolling so casually
We're different and the same,
Get you another name
Switch up the batteries
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart,
You can't shake me
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
Hmmmmmmmmmm, hoooooooooo
Be... Be be be be be be be be
Yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah, yeah, yeah
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart,
You can't shake me
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you,
There's no place I'd rather be