Rather Be Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

The fourth single from Clean Bandit’s album New Eyes was written by the band along with songwriter Jimmy Napes and reportedly inspired by Rosie Gaines' “Closer Than Close”. The band enlisted Jess Glynne on the vocals after Grace Chatto heard her on “My Love” and thought “this voice is perfect for the song that we’ve written.”

“Rather Be” was a huge commercial success, debuting at number one on the UK charts and was the highest and fastest selling single of January 2014. In February 2014, the song shot past Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” record with 1.09 million plays in a week on UK Spotify.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Clean Bandit say about "Rather Be"?
Verified Commentary
Grace Chatto
via CBS Radio
Genius Answer

It’s a love song about being completely content with the person that you’re with. We usually write songs by writing all the instrumental parts first and only when that’s finished start on the vocal. When Jack [Napes] wrote the original line, we didn’t know it was going to be a love song at that point and then it developed into this really happy, sentimental thing.

What was the inspiration for this song?
Verified Commentary
Jimmy Napes
via The Fader
Genius Answer

Most of the songs I’ve written actually are about her [his wife]. “Rather Be” was all about her. She always hears that on the radio and it makes her smile at work.

Is there a live performance of the song?
Genius Answer

Yes! On June 3rd, 2014, Clean Bandit interpreted the song live at C à vous.

Live Performance
Credits
Featuring
Background Vocals
Mixing Engineer
Additional Programming
Lead Vocals
Release Date
December 5, 2013
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