![]() ![]() And, if you’ve had trouble with drugs or been through a heroin intervention, the round peg of the whole song can kinda-sorta-maybe be forced into that square hole of addiction. Some have interpreted the burnin’ in my veins of the final chorus to be a reference to heroin addiction. The confessor could certainly use the services of one of the best psychiatrists in Orlando to assist with coping.Īs the song closes – well, as it slams shut – he draws himself as one who ![]() The plaintiveness in the voice turns into a soulful plea. Power chords from the lead electric sound far away, mixed almost into oblivion, piling on the notion of helplessness. The confessor’s disclosures begin to grow in scope until we become aware of a full-blown depressive episode that drives him to seek distance. Meanwhile, underneath, in a slow, insistent way, the song’s music builds dramatically, guitars tracked over one another to help punch out the chorus, which is in each succeeding version a variation of: Indeed, as we will find out, this habit of bad behavior extends to his choices concerning his mode of travel. Somehow, this chapter is worse, though he tells us, This time I have really led myself astray. He goes on to confess to the listener that he can’t keep promises, a long string of lost opportunities part of his make-up. I was a key that could use a little turning We know from the start, he is hurt, desperate: The opening verse poses to us a sad soul who has evidently let slip away a love, who he proceeds to contact at an hour where nothing good ever goes down. ![]() Runaway Train falls in the long tradition of the branch of folk rock that encompasses groups such as The Byrds Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ lighter work Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Harding and even the Allman Brothers’ Can’t You See, which reaches altogether different heights due to Duane Allman’s guitar. The single was officially released in ’93. The Grammy Awards recognized it as the year’s best song at the 1994 awards, although the album it is featured on, Grave Dancers Union, was released in 1992. Nevertheless, the words mean a lot of different things to many people.Ĭoupled with a mesmerizing rhythm guitar a strong, if commonplace, back beat drum backing and the plaintive tone of its vocals, Runaway Train seems to have grow in stature and depth over its life. Chief among them is that its poignant, well-crafted lyrics are open to multiple interpretations, sliding on a scale from the ridiculous to the sublime. Runaway Train rises to the level of a great song for many reasons. ![]()
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