A Surfer Headbutted a Reef and Wrote Your First Dance
By Aaron Wulff
Jack Johnson was supposed to be a professional surfer. At 17 he was the youngest invitee ever to make the finals of the Pipeline Masters, which is surfing’s equivalent of getting called up to the majors while you’re still doing homework. One week later he headbutted the reef at Pipeline, collected over 100 stitches in his forehead, and effectively retired.
The reef won and music got the consolation prize, which is a guy who’s sold millions of records.
“Better Together” was written for his wife, Kim, who he met at UC Santa Barbara and married in 2000. So it’s basically a love letter that escaped the house.
The whole song is built on a sample of “Heart and Soul,” the Hoagy Carmichael standard from 1938, better known to every human alive as the piano duet beginners play with two fingers while an older sibling handles the easy part.
The song leads off In Between Dreams, Johnson’s third album, which came out March 1, 2005 and climbed to number two on the Billboard 200. “Better Together” wasn’t released as a single until February 2006, and even then it only reached number 24 in the UK. America, displaying its usual timing, waited until 2009 to make a live version from his En Concert album a single, and it climbed to number 22 on the Mediabase Triple A chart.
There’s also a Cuban version by Rhythms del Mundo, recorded with musicians from the Buena Vista Social Club.
So the résumé is: written for one specific bride, built on a beginner’s piano exercise, ignored by American radio for four years, covered by Cuban legends. And it still sounds like a man on a porch with a guitar, not even trying that hard.
Alright, less surfing biography and more dancing.
“Better Together” runs 110 BPM in 4/4, which puts it in the comfortable Rumba pocket. You could even get away with a romantically slow foxtrot, the song has a little pop that would work for if you have the space and you’re not in a hurry.
This is acoustic guitar, brushed drums, and a bass line that’s laid back. Nobody’s kicking a drum at you. The groove is soft, which feels wonderful, and is just enough to give you an obvious beat. Listen for the pulse under the mellow instead of waiting for the song to announce it. Once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.
There’s no long runway at the beginning of the song, and it’s a gentle start, so you can’t force a big entrance.
The lyrics and the music aren’t just in agreement, they’re the same personality. The words say simple, unhurried, we’d rather be on a porch than anywhere fancy. The music says the exact same thing in the exact same tone of voice. No bait and switch, no sad verses hiding in a happy chorus. This is far from what you’d expect from a man with severe head trauma.
Now the practical stuff. At 3:27 it’s on the long side.
If it were me I’d tell my instructor I wanted a Rumba. At 110 BPM it’s a comfortable, natural Rumba tempo, the phrasing is regular, and the soft beat will make you two look smoother than you are, which is the whole game.
Foxtrot is a serious consideration here. It’s on the slower side, but you might like the idea of traveling around the floor as opposed to staying in place with the Rumba.
One more consideration, said with love: the song doesn’t have a lot of range. It finds a laid back lane and stays in it. That’s not a reason to skip it.
“Better Together” is a strong pick for your first dance. It has a lot going for it. Now get out there and dance. And no headbutting.
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