"Better Way" is a song by singer-songwriter Ben Harper

Ben Harper

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...

. It is the first track on disc two of his 2006 album Both Sides of the Gun

Both Sides of the Gun

Both Sides of the Gun, is a Ben Harper album released in 2006. Split into two discs, the title suggests at the two sides of Harper's musical nature. The first disc is made of mostly acoustic and string-driven songs hinted at on the last track of Harper's previous album Diamonds on the Inside...

, and was released as the album's first single. A live version of the song appears on Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace, a compilation album by various artists supporting Tibet. The song also served as a campaign song

Campaign song

Campaign songs are partisan ditties used in American political canvasses and more especially in presidential contests. The words were commonly set to established melodies like "Yankee Doodle," "Hail, Columbia," "Rosin the Bow," "Hail to the Chief" "John Brown's Body," "Dixie" and "O Tannenbaum" ;...

 for Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 during his 2008 presidential campaign

Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008

Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...

.

Themes

"Better Way" voices and seems to reflect Harper's frustration and dissatisfaction with the American political system. A few music journalists have compared the song to John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

's "Give Peace a Chance

Give Peace a Chance

"Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon, originally under the moniker Lennon–McCartney, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States. It is the first solo single issued by Lennon, and...

". Noting the songs are similar because they both express anger at current problems, but do not address how these problems were created or how they will be solved. That said, Harper does sing in this song that "I will look this world straight in the eyes", suggesting that he will not be put off by the obstacles that the powers of the world throw at him.