Recording and composition:
Lead vocalist Mike Score says that there were two main sources of inspiration for "I Ran (So Far Away)." The members of A Flock of Seagulls would regularly visit Eric's Club in Liverpool, where one of the bands had a song called "I Ran." Score noted that because A Flock of Seagulls would rehearse right after returning from Eric's, the song title and chorus may have gotten stuck in his head. Another idea came from a poster at a Zoo Records office. The band had gone there with the intent of securing a recording contract, and they wanted to use the poster, which featured a man and a woman running away from a flying saucer, as the cover for their first album, A Flock of Seagulls (1982). This depiction also helped spark the song's unusual space-like lyrics.
"I Ran (So Far Away)" was recorded at Battery Studios in London with producer Mike Howlett. It is a new wave and synth-pop song, with a run time of five minutes and seven seconds. According to the sheet music, the song moves at a quick tempo of 145 beats per minute. With a chord progression of A-G-A-G in the verses and F-G-A in the choruses, the song is written in the key of A minor. During the song's introduction and musical interludes, short guitar riffs are played, which give the sense of an echo. Guitarist Paul Reynolds had joined the band after the music was already written, so the short guitar riffs were added for Reynolds to play. Lyrically, "I Ran (So Far Away)" is about a man who sees an attractive woman and attempts to run away from his feelings. Before this happens, the man sees an aurora in the sky, and he and the woman are abducted by aliens.
I Ran
A Flock of Seagulls Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
Meet a girl like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
Hypnotize me through
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
A cloud appears above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
Aurora Borealis comes in view
Aurora comes in view
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
Reached out a hand to touch your face
You're slowly disappearing from my view
'Pearing from my view
Reached out a hand to try again
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
Beam of light with you
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I couldn't get away
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
And I ran
"I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls is a new wave/synth-pop song that was released in 1982. The song is a story about a man who meets a girl with "auburn hair and tawny eyes," who he finds captivating, and he ends up running away from her. The first verse describes the man walking down the street, never thinking that he would meet someone like her. He is drawn in by her looks, specifically, her "kind of eyes that hypnotize [him] through."
The chorus of the song is where the man describes running away from her, perhaps because he was intimidated or felt unworthy of her presence. He mentions running "all night and day" without being able to escape from her memory. In the second verse, the cloud appears, and a beam of light shines down on the girl. The guy describes the Aurora Borealis coming into view, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for the girl being otherworldly or out of his league.
In the final verse, the guy reaches out to touch the girl, but she slowly disappears from his view. He tries again, but he finds himself floating in a beam of light with her, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for him being enamored with her but not quite understanding her. He repeats the chorus several more times, emphasizing his running away from her and being unable to escape his feelings for her.
Overall, "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls is a song about a man who meets a girl who he finds intimidating, and he cannot get away from the feelings she inspires in him. The song is driven by an uptempo beat and features synthesizers that were popular in the new wave genre.
Line by Line Meaning
I walk along the avenue
I am strolling on the street
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
I didn't expect to encounter someone like you
Meet a girl like you
Find someone special like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
You have beautiful reddish hair and golden-brown eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
Your mesmerizing gaze captivates me
And I ran
I started running away
I ran so far away
I kept running for a long time
I just ran
I only did one thing: run
I ran all night and day
I spent the whole night and day running
I couldn't get away
I failed to escape
A cloud appears above your head
A mass of water droplets forms over your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
A ray of light illuminates you from above
Shining down on you
Radiating brilliance onto you
The cloud is moving nearer still
The cloud is approaching closer
Aurora Borealis comes in view
The Northern Lights are visible
Aurora comes in view
The Northern Lights are seen
Reached out a hand to touch your face
Extended my arm to caress your cheek
You're slowly disappearing from my view
You are gradually vanishing from my sight
'Pearing from my view
Fading away from my sight
Reached out a hand to try again
Tried to touch you again
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
I am levitating while being carried by a ray of light along with you
Lyrics Ā© Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alistair Michael Score, Francis Maudsley, Michael Score, Paul E Reynolds
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@acidrichi9876
I walked along the avenue
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
Meet a girl like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
Hypnotize me through
ā¦ And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
ā¦ A cloud appears above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
Aurora borealis comes in view
Aurora comes in view
ā¦ And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
ā¦ Reached out a hand to touch your face
You're slowly disappearing from my view
'Pearing from my view
Reached out a hand to try again
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
A beam of light with you
ā¦ And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I couldn't get away
@andrewgonzalez1395
Lyrics:
I walk along the avenue
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
Meet a girl like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
You hypnotize me through
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
A cloud appears above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
Aurora Borealis comes in view
Aurora comes in view
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
Reached out a hand to touch your face
You're slowly disappearing from my view
Disappearing from my view
Reached out a hand to try again
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
A beam of light with you
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
And I ran
I ran so far away
I just ran
I ran all night and day
@BrainVerseOne
I walked along the avenue
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
Meet a girl like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
Hypnotize me through
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
A cloud appears above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
Aurora Borealis comes in view
Aurora comes in view
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
Reached out a hand to touch your face
You're slowly disappearing from my view
Appearing from my view
Reached out a hand to try again
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
A beam of light with you
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I couldn't get away
@williamvillar7134
Back then, we couldn't wait to get to the future. Now, we just want to go back.
@astraluna6is9
That may be true. But even being there, like we were, would we like it back then now?
@blackfordoblique1965
You wouldn't be in the market for a time travel machine... would you?
@mrwilliamssr
Why is your comment not NUMBER 1. ššš
@rhpslover1220
Sad in'nit?
@EdmontonRails
The 80's and 90's were the future, we're now living in the post-future decline.
@barryparker4066
I told my daughter in the 1980's this would be a classic. 74 years old and still rocking to this classic song!
@annarobertson8320
75, same
@7777LORENZO
68 and rocking the Oldies
@lonniehatfield6006
There's A Video Where The Band Shows How To Play The Song!!!!