Watch the video.

Play this on the jukebox and listen to a lot of other versions too.
You can also download all the different musical versions, in the order they went up.

Check Janey’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel for more info.

This track was produced by Ric Sandler.
Download “Who’s That Guy”

From Janis: Janey Street is my oldest friend; we met at camp when we were 12 or 13, the only two girls playing rock & roll and pop music amidst a sea of folkies. She introduced me to Bessie Smith, The Rolling Stones, and egg creams; I introduced her to Richie Havens, Odetta, and a deeper type of songwriting. Frankly I think the egg creams were the most important thing. 

Janey was stepping out of the traditional female roles in music long before anyone had heard of Joan Jett or Janis Joplin. At thirteen, she was writing songs, leading her own band, and insisting that she be treated like her male counter-parts. The few albums she made have since become collector’s items, and are well worth seeking out. When I ran away from home, I ran to Janey’s, where we’d hang out under the clock in Queens and talk about what a crazy world it was, where songwriters like us had to scrape and bow at school while we had more important things to do.

Her two recent albums, My Side of Paradise and In My Own Skin, are well worth checking out – she’s also a wonderful graphic artist and video maker, talents she inherited from her father Nate, whose work you can see here. Her “Boomer Chick” video series is worth watching for its honesty. Like many artists of my generation, she was already struggling to make ends meet when Covid-19 hit, drying up her house concerts and any possiblity of live work. 

She’s one of the best writers I know, with an ear for feel and commerciality I’ve never had. She should be one of the hottest producers on earth, because to my knowledge no one puts together a better band, or arrangement, than Janey does when she’s given the chance to do it her way. (Have a listen to “Who’s That Guy”; while she wrote it with me and Kye Fleming, she did everything else on this demo, from choosing the band to arranging the harmonies.) Last, she’s one of the few people I go to when I hit a snag in my own writing. I can’t give her higher praise than that.

BETTER TIMES WILL COME
(Janis Ian)

Better times, better times will come.
Better times, better times will come.
When this world learns to live as one,
oh, better times will come

When we greet each dawn without fear
knowing loved ones soon will be near
When the winds of war
cannot blow any more
Oh, better times will come

CHORUS

Though we live each day as our last
we know someday soon it will pass
We will dance, we will sing
in that never-ending spring
Oh, better times will come

CHORUS

“Better Times Will Come” words & music by Janis Ian; © Janis Ian 2020. All rights reserved; international copyrights secured. Used by permission