Runaway (2010) – The National

Runaway is classic restraint music from The National. It’s the 8th song on their 5th album High Violet. Ever since I first heard Runaway, I got swept away in it’s atmospheric soundscapes and sparse instrumentals. I often find myself putting it on repeat such is the lure of its slow melodic burn. It always calms me. The way the music rises quietly throughout…. It is as if the facts of the situation have not changed and everything is still awful, but you find some reason to hope for a better future despite everything. You have to persevere.

There are two distinct ‘camps’ of interpretation of this song. One is that writers Matt Berninger (singer) and Aaron Dessner (guitar, piano) are lamenting the future of society due to catastrophic consequences of global warming. I contend that it can mean whatever it means to you.
So for me it’s always been a haunting song about being in a relationship that is apparently doomed. If read like a poem it could only be interpreted as a tragedy: What makes you think I’m enjoying being led to the flood? / We got another thing comin’ undone / And it’s takin’ us over.

He clearly loves this person dearly and even though it will inevitably fall apart – There’s no saving anything, but he can’t bring himself to leave: I won’t be no runaway, cause I won’t run.

You see things are not always bad between them unless they start arguing: We don’t bleed, when we don’t fight / Go ahead, go ahead / Throw your arms in the air tonight.

[Verse 1]
There’s no savin’ anything
Now we’re swallowing the shine of the summer
There’s no savin’ anything
How we swallow the sun

[Pre-Chorus]
But I won’t be no runaway
‘Cause I won’t run
No, I won’t be no runaway
What makes you think I’m enjoyin’ bein’ led to the flood?
We got another thing comin’ undone
And it’s takin’ us over

[Chorus]
We don’t bleed, when we don’t fight
Go ahead, go ahead
Throw your arms in the air tonight
We don’t bleed, when we don’t fight
Go ahead, go ahead
Lose our shirts in the fire tonight
What makes you think I’m enjoyin’ bein’ led to the flood?
We got another thing comin’ undone

[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
I’ll go bravin’ everything
With you swallowin’ the shine of the summer
I’ll go bravin’ everything
Through the shine of the sun

[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]
[Outro]
And it’s takin’ forever

The National is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1999. High Violet the album which Runaway resides sold 51,000 copies in its first week of sales, charting at number three on the Billboard 200. This marked the National’s highest charting effort at the time. Also, High Violet was released to widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 85 out of 100 based on 36 reviews. The overall success of this record solidified The National‘s reputation as one of the most important indie rock bands of their generation.
The track Runaway was used in the 2013 film Warm Bodies.

References:
1. High Violet – Wikipedia

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand