Poor Otis dead and gone
Left me here to sing his song
Pretty little girl with the red dress on
Poor Otis dead and gone

Yeah, back down, turn around slowly
Try it again, remembering when
It was easy, try it again
Much too easy, rememberin' when
All right, look at my shoes
Not quite the walkin' blues
Don't fight, too much to lose
Can't fight the runnin' blues

Well, I've got the runnin' blues
Runnin' away, back to L.A.
Got to find the dock in the bay
Maybe find it back in L.A.

Runnin' scared, runnin' blue
Goin' so fast, what'll I do

Well, I've got the runnin' blues
Runnin' away, back to L.A.
Got to find the dock in the bay
Maybe find it back in L.A.

All right, look at my shoes
Not quite the walkin' blues
Don't fight, too much to lose
Can't fight the runnin' blues
All right, look at my shoes
Not quite the walkin' blues
Don't fight, too much to lose
Can't fight the runnin' blues


Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira

Running Blue Lyrics as written by John Paul Densmore Jim Morrison

Lyrics © Doors Music Company

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Running Blue song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

11 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is a tribute to Otis Redding, with "the poor Otis dead and gone" and the "dock of the bay" lines.

    SteelFistedYokelon April 16, 2004   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
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Album art
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Album art
The Spy
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Album art
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.