Watch Maren Morris Perform ‘Better Than We Found It’ On ‘Colbert’

Maren Morris made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday (Jan. 4) to perform her “protest song,” “Better Than We Found It.” 

The CMA Female Vocalist of the Year appeared virtually from the stage of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to perform the song alongside her touring band. Morris delivered a beautiful performance of the song as the screen behind her lit up with a variety of colors.

https://youtu.be/-Xbn3_sGBmI

Released in early October, “Better Than We Found It” centers around the state of America in 2020. The song was co-written by Morris alongside Jessie Jo Dillon, Jimmy Robbins and Laura Veltz and produced by Greg Kurstin.

Throughout the song, Morris directly acknowledges the issues the U.S. has faced in the past year and promises to make a change.

“If you don’t like it, then get the hell out/ That’s what they yell when I open my mouth/ A stick is a stick, a stone is a stone/ But who’s gonna care if I don’t?/Who’s gonna change if I won’t?,” she questions in the opening verse.

A portion of proceeds from the song will be donated to the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the first nonprofit organization created by Black women to help protect and advance the health and wellness of Black women and girls.

“I wanted to write something to address exactly how I feel right now, and this came together pretty quickly,” Morris explained upon the song’s release. “It’s a protest song—it’s the most American thing to protest and protest songs have been so embedded in American culture: Bob Dylan, Nina Simone. I think the world right now is sort of in a perpetual mourning period and I wanted to have a song that had weight but also had hope. I still have hope for this country and for the future of it, and as a new mother I wanted to promise my son that I’m going to do everything in my power to leave this world better than the one I came into and the one I see right now.”

Click above to watch Maren Morris’ performance of “Better Than We Found It.”