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Running Scared Lyrics
Just runnin' scared each place we go
So afraid that he might show
Yeah, runnin' scared, what would I do
If he came back and wanted you
Just runnin' scared, feelin' low
Runnin' scared, you love him so
Just runnin' scared, afraid to lose
If he came back which one would you choose
Then all at once he was standing there
So sure of himself, his head in the air
My heart was breaking, which one would it be
You turned around and walked away with me.
So afraid that he might show
Yeah, runnin' scared, what would I do
If he came back and wanted you
Runnin' scared, you love him so
Just runnin' scared, afraid to lose
If he came back which one would you choose
So sure of himself, his head in the air
My heart was breaking, which one would it be
You turned around and walked away with me.
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I'm really surprised nobody has commented on this song. Such an amazing song, story, and performance by Orbison.
About a guy who runs off with a girl who has a boyfriend. The narrator's scared that the boyfriend will show up and she'll run back off with him. The boyfriend shows up, and the girl chooses the narrator.
The way it's phrased though, and the way it's worded makes me identify with the narrator as opposed to the boyfriend, and makes turns the narrator into an underdog character worth liking even though he's running off with someone else's girl. You can tell that the narrator believes in true love with this girl rather than it just being an illicit affair. The narrator suffers from an insecurity love can bring on, whereas the boyfriend seems like a douchebag. The narrator doesn't really think the girl will choose him, but she does, and the ecstatic, melodramatic performance Orbison gives really makes it a joyous moment in the song.
I agree with the prior commentors-- only two comments so far?! Perhaps the most dramatic, near operatic performances of the entire rock era. My take on it though, is the narrator and his new girlfriend are not cheating, but rather he fears she harbors feelings for a former boyfriend. From the lyrics it sounds to me like the former boyfriend is the one who called it quits. ("What would I do If he CAME BACK and wanted you..." "afraid to lose if he CAME BACK which one would you choose...") But the lyrics are ripe for even further speculation. To add a layer of nuance, what if the former boyfriend had not dumped her and had come back from a forced absence, for example serving in the military, college, reform school, jail... whatever. After the long absence the narrator wonders whether his girlfriend's heart grew fonder for the other guy. I love that about about lyrics that, at their surface, are pure and simple like this. They are fertile ground for interpretation and imagination.
One comment?
This is one of the best songs of all time. LMAO