Bon Jovi - Runaway - Meaning of the song
Runaway was the first hit for Bon Jovi. Jon Bon Jovi wrote it in 1982 with early collaborator George Karak, and it gained popularity in the band's home state of New Jersey. Despite the success of this song, the band continued to struggle. They were a popular live act, but didn't make much money until they released Slippery When Wet two years later.
This song tells the story of a young girl who gets so little attention from her parents that she runs away from home and lives on the streets, doing what she can to survive. Jon Bon Jovi would often take a Greyhound bus from New Jersey into Manhattan, where he saw many young people trying to get away in desperation. These are the people who inspired the song.
In a 1986 interview Jon Bon Jovi had some harsh words for this video. He said:
"I hate videos. If you wanted to torture me you'd tie me down and force me to watch our first five videos. Five times you're chump before you learn what you're doing. The first time we'd just made a record and we were all excited and some a--hole decides we're going to make a video for 'Runaway.' So instead of making it about what the song's about, he decides to put a concept to it with his little niece in it. It's the worst piece of s--t I ever saw in my life. There's a girl with like fire coming out of her eyes. They dressed the band. Richie's wearing a jumpsuit and shoes that are three sizes too big. They kept squirting us down with this greasy solution to make it look like we were sweating. We all look like assholes."
Runaway - Lyrics
On the street where you live girls talk about their social lives
They're made of lipstick, plastic and paint, a touch of sable in their eyes
All your life, all your life all you've asked when's your daddy gonna talk to you
But you were living in another world tryin' to get your message through.
No one heard a single word you said.
They should have seen it in your eyes
What was going around your head.
Ooh, she's a little runaway.
Daddy's girl learned fast
All those things he couldn't say.
Ooh, she's a little runaway.
A different line every night guaranteed to blow your mind
I see you out on the streets, calling for a wild time
So you sit home alone 'cause there's nothing left that you can do
There's only pictures hung in the shadows left there to look at you
You know she likes the lights at night on the neon Broadway signs
She don't really mind, it's only love she hoped to find
Ooh, she's a little runaway.
Daddy's girl learned fast
All those things he couldn't say.
Ooh, she's a little runaway.
No one heard a single word you said
They should have seen it in your eyes
What was going around your head.
Ooh, she's a little runaway
Daddy's girl learned fast
All those things he couldn't say
Ooh, she's a little runaway
Daddy's girl learned fast
Now she works the night away
Ooh, she's a little runaway
Daddy's girl learned fast
All those things he couldn't say
Ooh, she's a little runaway
Daddy's girl learned fast
Now she works the night away
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