The Loose Connections Recommender #7
On Songs About Running & Runaway Horses
This is neither here nor there, but I feel I must begin by confessing I am a deeply unsporty person (more about that here). But the idea of running, oh….
My confession is prompted by the release of my new single ‘I Just Had To Run’ (from my forthcoming in 2024 8th studio album), which I feel kind of makes me sound athletic (or maybe I’m dreaming). Anyway, this is my personal vision of what I imagine running looks like. Pretty cool right? Right now I can break into a slo-mo run from a fairly pathetic jog for about 2 minutes and then it’s back to what I like to call ‘power walking’ but I will persist. After all, I was born on ‘the day of dogged persistence’ (which I wrote about here).
But let’s get on with the show. The Songs about Running recommendations list, cunningly titled Runner’s High. I get great pleasure from slipping my own songs in-between my well worn favourite inspirations, hoping a little magic might rub off, so I hope you’ll forgive my impertinence. There is a Spotify playlist here, and each song below has a YouTube link.
Run Run Run - The Velvet Underground & Nico
This classic was written on the back of an envelope on the way to a gig. Welcome to the wild, messed up world of Teenage Mary, Seasick Sarah and Beardless Harry...
I Just Had To Run - Lo Carmen & The Great Beyond
“I just had to run/Feel the streets fade behind/I could not help no one/I had to hold what was mine/I just had to run/Feel my heart beat in time/Feel the sting of the wind/Feel the weight of the rhyme/I just had to run”
Fuck & Run - Liz Phair
A relatable and timeless anthem for a generation that keeps on giving, as fresh and raw as it was on its release in 1993. And Liz Phair is cooler than ever. Read her memoir, its fantastic.
The Runner - Allison Russell
Transcendent singer songwriter Allison Russell’s remarkable debut solo album is a glorious gift detailing turning the worst kind of trauma imaginable into joyful freedom.‘‘Then I heard that Rock’n’Roll outside the South Hill Candy Store, felt myself walking in, I was up above me, Felt myself walking in, I was up above me, I was standing right beside me, oh, And I saw my deliverance’’
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
“tramps like us, baby, we were born to run…”
I can’t ever get enough of the grand romance and outsider trainwreck blues of this song. A writer on the Asbury Park interactive fanzine describes it as ‘rock’n’roll rapture’ but that’s not telling you anything you don’t already know… keep running Wendy, its not over yet.
Running’ Down A Dream - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
“I felt so good like anything was possible, Hit cruise control and rubbed my eyes”
Run Honey Run - John Martyn
“So run honey run, and hide in the wind/And never stop to look inside your mind”
Runnin’ Just In Case - Miranda Lambert
“I ain't unpacked my suitcase since the day that I turned twenty-one/It's been a long ten years since then, it's getting kinda cumbersome”
Take The Money & Run - Steve Miller Band
A very funky story song/tale about “Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue/Two young lovers with nothin' better to do/Than sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube/And here's what happened when they decided to cut loose”. Reader, they are still running today!
The Long Run - The Eagles
Apparently written in 1979 to response to rumours that the band was breaking up, a kind of defiant just want and see in the long run. The band disbanded in 1980, so maybe a little defensive? Also amazing to think Don Henley sang and played drums at the same time, a rare feat.
Running Kind - Merle Haggard
I was born the runnin’ kind
With leavin’ always on my mind
Home was never home to me at any time
Every front door found me hopin’
I would find the back door open
There just had to be an exit
For the runnin’ kindLove Never Runs On Time - Paul Kelly
“The radio died after the first hundred miles/I sang all the way to the border/And guess who starred in every rhyme/Ah you know and I know that love never runs on time”
Run Run Run - Ann Peebles
“Run, run, run/That's all you do/You're doing the same old thing/You never do nothing new”
Runaround Sue - Dion
In this video the all white audience look like they’re almost dead, despite the wildly vibrant performance from Dion who later explained “I recorded Runaround Sue with “The Del-Satins” and black musicians from the Apollo Theater, Buddy Lucas on Sax, Sticks Evans on drums, Panama Francis on percussion, Teacho Wilshire on piano, Milt Hinton on bass, and Mickey “Guitar” Baker. When Hollywood filmed this rendition they use all white actors playing musicians behind me, knowing the film wouldn't get played in the South at that time…”
You Better Run - The Young Rascals
Brilliant slab of garage rock and teen male angst from 1966.
Run Wild Run Free - Claudine Longet
I have this record and used to listen to it as a teenager thinking her slightly wispy wispy French accent was funny, but slowly her very real charms worked their way into my understanding. Claudine is a beautiful and elegant singer and well worth seeking out. Amazing back story too but that’s a tale for another time!
Run The World (Girls) - Beyonce
I’m just gonna let this amazing video speak for itself….
Lastly, every episode of the great Margo Price’s podcast Runaway Horses is a total joy - she has “inspirational conversations with artists who aren’t afraid to break the mold and follow their own path.” Guests include Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead, Bettye Lavette - her episode ‘Bettye Lavette Will F**k You Up!’ is my absolute favourite!) , Swamp Dogg, Amethyst Kiah, and more. The first episode below features Emmylou Harris. Check it out sometime!
Love from the road (Melbourne tonight at the John Curtin Hotel!), where I’ve been trying to get this written for days but between planes and shows it’s taken me some time…. I hope it makes you want to run wild, run free x
