1999's Breathing Tornados marked a new direction for Lee as he introduced synths and increased instrumentation into his sound. The album was a huge success, with the first single, "Cigarettes Will Kill You", finishing second in that year's Triple J Hottest 100. Lee also enjoyed success with the single "Something Borrowed, Something Blue" - from the album hey you. yes you. - reaching no 22 in 2002's Triple J Hottest 100.
In 2001 he joined forces with Evan Dando, Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick and Jason Schwartzman of Phantom Planet and acting fame. Calling themselves Dando Lee Petersson Schwartzman, they recorded a single, "Dead or Anything", at Globe Studios, New York.
During 2003 he teamed up with Ben Kweller and Ben Folds for a side project entitled The Bens. They recorded four songs together in Nashville, resulting in a self-titled EP.
In late 2004, he left Steve Pavlovic's Modular Recordings and started up his own record label, Ten Fingers. The first release on the label was the single, "Gamble Everything For Love", followed by the album, Awake Is The New Sleep in February 2005. A defining release in his career, the album showcased a much brighter, positive side of Lee's personality, in contrast to his previous darker musings. Awake Is The New Sleep received several nominations for the 2005 Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards, and Lee won Best Male Artist, Best Independent Release, and Single Of The Year for "Catch My Disease". Catch My Disease was also number 2 on the 2005 Triple J Hottest 100.
In September 2007, Lee released his sixth solo album, named "Ripe" after the final song on the record. The album is somewhat controversial, with most songs relating in some way to sex, lust and love. Mandy Moore features on the album in the song "Birds and Bees", and Benji Madden plays electric guitar in "Sex Without Love". It also features Sara Watkins, Rachael Yamagata, Charlotte Martin, Ned Bower, Taylor Locke and Robert Schwatzman (who is also credited for co-writing 'Sex Without Love'). It was a big step away from the spiritual "Awake is the New Sleep", but shows Lee's need for change in songs. The album was produced by John Alagia and released under the Inertia/Ten Fingers label 'Awake is the New Sleep' was released under.
February 2009 brought the release of his latest LP entitled "The Rebirth of Venus." This release also includes a bonus disk that includes six cover songs that Ben has done including "Kids" by MGMT and "New Wave" by Against Me!.
Run
Ben Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm reaching out for contact
To keep you on my mind
And are you close to breaking
I'm sorry if you're aching
But I don't want to hide
I feel you somewhere downtown
I bleed until I'm cut
And I'm still thinking of you
I promise I could love you
If you could keep it up
[Chorus]
Run if you want me
You're moving too slow
Run if you want me, oh whoa
Run if you want me
You're moving too slow
Run if you want me, oh whoa
The secret that I'm keeping
The moment that I'm reaching
The image on my mind
I feel you in the outback
I'm holding out for contact
You're so far behind
[Chorus]
Wake up jump start
Your name across my heart
Sign one track mind
Until the finish line
Slow burn new time
Still life a lesson learned
Fun damage done
If you want me you gotta
[Chorus: x2]
The song ‘Run’ by Ben Lee talks about yearning for someone who is not reciprocating the feelings. The first stanza starts off with the singer feeling the presence of the person whom he wants to be with but knows he cannot have. He is desperately trying to hold onto the memories of them together and trying to keep them in his mind. He acknowledges that the person he wants to be with might not feel the same way, but he does not want to hide his true feelings either. In the second stanza, he talks about how he still thinks of the person and how he could love them if they could just feel the same. The chorus then goes on to urge the person to run if they want him because they are moving too slowly, indicating that he is impatient and wants them to take the action necessary to be with him. The last lines hint at his commitment to them, urging them to keep up if they want to be with him.
Overall, ‘Run’ is a song about unrequited love and the desire to be with someone who cannot return those feelings. The singer is longing for the person, and yet he knows that he cannot force them to feel the same way. The chorus, however, reveals his desire to be with this person and let them know that they need to take some action if they want to be with him.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel you in the sidetrack
I sense your presence even in the places where you're not. I can't help but think of you.
I'm reaching out for contact
I'm desperate to connect with you, to bridge the distance between us.
To keep you on my mind
I want to hold on to the memory of you, to remember what it feels like to be near you.
And are you close to breaking
I worry that you're about to give up on us, that the distance is too much for you to bear.
I'm sorry if you're aching
I regret any pain that I've caused you in this situation, any hurt that you're feeling.
But I don't want to hide
I don't want to hold back my feelings or pretend that I don't care about you. I want to be honest.
I feel you somewhere downtown
I sense that you're near the city, living your own life without me.
I hear you in the low sounds
Even in the quiet moments, I can still hear your voice in my head.
I bleed until I'm cut
I'm emotionally vulnerable and raw, willing to pour out my heart even if it hurts me in the end.
And I'm still thinking of you
Even when I'm trying to focus on other things, your memory lingers constantly in my mind.
I promise I could love you
I believe that we have a future together, that our love could be strong and enduring.
If you could keep it up
If you're willing to work with me, to make the effort to keep our relationship going despite the distance.
Run if you want me
If you're not willing to fight for our love, to take the risk and put in the effort to make it work, then you should run away and not look back.
You're moving too slow
I want you to take action, to show me that you're committed to making things work between us, but you're not moving fast enough.
The secret that I'm keeping
There are things that I'm not sharing with you, things that I'm hiding to protect myself and our relationship.
The moment that I'm reaching
I'm trying to hold onto the special moments that we've shared, to keep the memory of those times close to my heart.
The image on my mind
I have a clear picture of you in my head, of your face and your smile and your eyes.
I feel you in the outback
Even when you're far away, in a remote and distant place, I can still sense your presence and feel connected to you.
I'm holding out for contact
I'm waiting for you to call or text, to reach out to me in some way and let me know that you still care.
You're so far behind
I'm moving forward with my life, trying to make progress, but you're not keeping up with me. You're falling behind.
Wake up jump start
I want you to wake up and take action, to jump start our relationship and make it a priority.
Your name across my heart
I'm deeply in love with you, so much so that your name is etched onto my heart and soul.
Sign one track mind
I'm focused solely on you and our relationship, invested completely in making it work.
Until the finish line
I'm committed to seeing this through, to staying with you until the very end of our relationship.
Slow burn new time
Our love is growing slowly and steadily over time, building into something beautiful and meaningful.
Still life a lesson learned
Even when things get difficult and we face struggles and setbacks, there are lessons to be learned from those experiences.
Fun damage done
We may have hurt each other along the way, but that doesn't negate the fun and joy that we've shared together.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID GEORGE GRAY, PAUL CHRISTIAN MAYBURY, ROMAN CHARLES TUCKER, KIT WARHURST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind