Did you ever notice that good sad songs are a dime a dozen, but good uplifting songs are much harder to find? Don’t blame that discrepancy on the British musician Howard Jones. Jones has always managed to bring warm feelings with his music while still keeping the quality high. Jones wrote “Things Can Only Get Better” with the express purpose of raising spirits. Some four decades after it was released, the song still accomplishes that mission each time it’s heard anew.
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Jones’ Journey
Howard Jones, born in Southampton in Great Britain, was following a path that might have led him to become a classical musician. But Jones fell in love with pop music instead. He decided to follow that road as far as it led.
It led him to immediate success in his native country with his first album. Human’s Lib, released in 1984, topped the British charts and spun out an impressive four Top 15 singles in the UK. On that first album, Jones often used lyrics written by his friend Bill Bryant, who infused the songs with his Buddhist wisdom.
For his follow-up studio album, Jones chose to do all the writing himself. And because his record label wanted product in a hurry after the success of his debut, he wrote whenever he could, often between the sound checks and actual performances while he toured the United States. He used those stolen moments to compose “Things Can Only Get Better”.
“Better” Days
Jones understood that his popularity gave him a megaphone to send messages directly to his listeners. He also knew that many of those listeners might be dealing with hard times and could use some support. “Things Can Only Get Better” delivered that kind of support.
The song’s wordless “whoa-whoa-whoa” came about because Jones wanted to give his fans an easy sing-along part when he played the song live. Some of the lyrics also refer to Jones’ anxieties about maintaining the level of success he had achieved. That meant he was giving himself a pep talk in the same manner as he was trying to inspire his audience.
The singles Jones released from Human’s Lib only managed minor success in the United States. But “Things Can Only Get Better” delivered his American breakthrough. The song, found on his hugely successful 1985 album Dream Into Action, shot into the US Top 10.
Behind the Lyrics of “Things Can Only Get Better”
The message of “Things Can Only Gets Better” gets through because Jones doesn’t try to kid us that it’s an easy one to follow. Priorities can get jumbled in the race for success. “A thousand skeptic hands won’t keep us from the things we plan,” Jones sings. “Unless we’re clinging to the things we prize.”
The courage to chase what’s important must prevail: “It may take a little time, a lonely path, an uphill climb / Success or failure will not alter it.”
In the pre-chorus sections, Jones finds common ground with his listeners by admitting that even he feels doubt and uncertainty in the search for bliss: “And do you feel scared? I do / But I won’t stop and falter.”
“Things Can Only Get Better” not only became one of Howard Jones’ signature songs, but it also captured his essence as an artist. Positivity in the face of trials and tribulations is never an easy hurdle to clear. Jones’ winning song gives his listeners a fantastic boost to reaching that goal.
Photo by Stoddart/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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