(Sage Francis)
It's time to rethink every fact that is imaginable
Survival instinct dwells in a past that is inhabitable
I happen to pull fast ones over the slow parole board
Who likes to speak to de-fanged wolves who cry sheep
Time seeps into our skin, age indicates how long we've been lost in space
I keep putting expression looks upon my face
An awful waste of human skin who waits for Autumn to begin
While far from grace, will do me in to late
(I'm out of seasoning)
No spring chickens, summer romance novel writer could win a prize
It's Nobel, go to hell in a riding vehicle that he winterized
I change my mind more often then my undergarments
Abide abortion and other nonsense
I'm an orphan who comes from Providence
I am assigned from God! For the parentally misguided

(And I know...)
State is not an ocean, not an island, not a road
If I don't know where I come from
How do I know where to go?
It's not where you're from, not where you're at
It's where your going... and I am going home
(And I know...)
State is not an ocean, not an island, not a road
If I don't know where I come from
How do I know where to go?
It's not where you're from, not where you're at
It's where your going... and I am going home...

...to where? The land of the lost souls
Feeling a loneliness that really only exists in abandoned foster homes
How many images of missing kids can be fit onto a milk carton?
Framed, they're starting to look the same
Starting to say his name, and claim privileges
As if they found HIM!
The strangest little kids surrounding the circle of false friendship
Rings of fire are connected at the elbow
Cause they're tired, moms unexpectedly let go
The Velcro light component that keeps there unit cohesive
It's the music! So we give reasons to get sober
Life experiences to hum to
These kids play Red Rover? I look for weaknesses to run through
With reckless abandon, they're standin', refuse to go down
The pinballs in their machine bounce between abusive homes now
If its fighter flats, they'll just choose to throw down
Ain't nothing like beating a dead horse, riding it through a ghost town
I move with no sound... I used to think I was invisible
Til they stopped me in mid-stride and said
"I think I seen a picture of you..."
Picture that, I said "Nah I just got one of them faces
Placed next to an expiration date that changes.
I kind of look familiar, my name is at the tip of your tongue
The lost look on my face makes you play dumb.
Say something collopial
I need to get my bearings and a feel for where I'm at
but you ain't hearin' that."
They shout freeze! I'm a tourist trapped by townies
Who put bounties on armies and all surrounding counties
Before I bounce, I hear them shout
"Someone help us out, PLEASE!"
We're all alone in the foster home
Killin' ourselves with the house keys...
Not every broken home can come equipped with a fix-it man
And it's a smelly mess once the shit hits the fan
Kids just stand in their circle jerks with there dicks in the sand
Saying "FUCK THE WORLD" cause they ain't got no girl
But who do they think I am?
Think again, I'm not that quick to plan ahead of time
I'm two steps behind the schedule, they pretend to befriend my mind
I think they just misread the lines in the palm of my hand
Cause, they're random scars caused by slap boxin' with landlords
I ran with the dogs till I realized they were all mutts
Turned bitch once the dog catcher caught up
Forced into trucks, boarded up, put to sleep in the pound
Being an orphan sucks, but I'm done with sneaking around
I see my frown posted up on street lights
And telephone poles, from what they show it seems like
I never grow old, from what they show it seems like
I never go home, and that doesn't seem right
Cause they won't let me grow...

And this is where some go
to avoid the sunrays and the noise of subways
Emerging introverted, unemployed and unshaved
I feel rewarded offering a finder's fee that I know no one will pay

And this is where some go
to avoid the sunrays and the noise of subways
Emerging introverted, unemployed and unshaved
I've got multiple personalities and my inner children are runaways

(And I know...)
State is not an ocean, not an island, not a road
If I don't know where I come from
How do I know where to go?
It's not where you're from, not where you're at
It's where your going... and I am going home...
To the land of the lost souls
Feeling a loneliness that really only exists in abandoned foster homes

I feel rewarded offering a finder's fee that I know no one will pay I've got
multiple personalities and my inner children are runaways
I feel rewarded offering a finder's fee that I know no one will pay I've got
multiple personalities and my inner children are runaways
I feel rewarded offering a finder's fee that I know no one will pay I've got
multiple personalities and my inner children are runaways...
(kids shouting until end)


Lyrics submitted by Benny-X

Runaways Lyrics as written by Pat Mc Gee Marti Frederiksen

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Runaways song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

9 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Listen to: Captain Beefheart - Further Than We've Gone

    You'll recognize it.

    Marajaon May 27, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.