Shannon followed up with "Hats Off to Larry", another big hit, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness. "Little Town Flirt", released in 1962 reached #12 in 1963 as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the US, but became a sensation in England. In 1963, he became the first American artist to record a cover version of a Beatles song with "From Me to You".
Shannon returned to the charts in 1964 with "Handy Man", "Do You Wanna Dance", "Keep Searchin'", and "Stranger in Town" (1965), with the latter two songs themed about flight from pursuit in a dangerous world. A 1966 chart offering was Shannon's cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb". In the late 1960s after a dry spell of hits, he turned to production. In 1969 he discovered a group called Smith and arranged their hit "Baby It's You". He then produced his friend Brian Hyland's million seller "Gypsy Woman" in 1970.
In the 1970s, Shannon's career slowed down greatly; the hates and fears he had turned into art in his earlier songs were turning into full-blown mental illness, and he was self-medicating with alcohol. He finally put the bottle down in 1978, and he was able to return to mainstream audiences with "Sea of Love" in the early 1980s from the album "Drop Down And Get Me" produced by Tom Petty.
In December, 1983, Shannon served as Grand Marshal of the Coopersville, Michigan Christmas parade and also performed a benefit concert at Coopersville High School.
Shannon enjoyed a resurgence in audience interest after re-recording a portion of his song "Runaway" (with new lyrics) as the theme for the television program Crime Story. Producer Michael Mann felt that this was one of the definitive songs of the era in which the program was set. Some fans of the show prefer the sharper lyrics ("Some live, and others die") as an alternate to the original words.
On 8 February 1990, while working on a comeback album with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, Shannon fatally shot himself in the head with a .22 calibre rifle. His wife thought his death might have been related to his recent use of the prescription drug Prozac. The album was released after his death and titled "Rock On!".
Shannon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Runaround Sue
Del Shannon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
A keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Yeah keep away from this girl
I don't know what she'll doe
Keep away from Sue
She likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she'll do now
Del Shannon's song Runaround Sue is a cautionary tale warning others to stay away from a particular girl named Sue. The singer is sharing his own story about how Sue took his love and proceeded to run around with every single guy in town, causing him to end up with a broken heart. The singer then urges listeners to avoid a similar fate by keeping away from Runaround Sue. The song's chorus emphasizes the singer's pain and longing for Sue, but also reiterates the importance of avoiding her. The lyrics overall are straightforward and repetitive, but successfully convey the message of avoiding a heartbreaker like Sue.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's my story, it's sad but true
I'm about to tell you a true and unfortunate story
It's about a girl that I once knew
The story is about a girl I used to date
She took my love then ran around
She cheated on me with other men
With every single guy in town
She wasn't picky about who she cheated with
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
I should have realized this was going to happen early on
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
She was going to hurt me deeply
Now listen people what I'm telling you
Pay attention to my warning
A keep away from a Runaround Sue
Stay away from women like her
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
I may miss the physical and emotional affection she showed me
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
I may miss the physical touch of her hair and hugs
So if you don't want to cry like I do
If you don't want to feel the pain I'm feeling
A keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Stay away from women like her
Ah, she likes to travel around
She likes to move from place to place
She'll love you and she'll put you down
She'll give you affection but then hurt you emotionally
Now people let me put you wise
Let me give you some important advice
Sue goes out with other guys
She dates other men
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
Here's the lesson I've learned from experience
I fell in love and my love still grows
Even though she hurt me, I still have feelings for her
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Everyone who's ever known her will tell you
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Stay away from women like her
Yeah keep away from this girl
Stay away from her
I don't know what she'll doe
I don't know what she'll do to hurt you
Keep away from Sue
Stay away from women like her
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dion Di Mucci, Ernie Maresca
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pedroasencios1163
Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
A keep away from a Runaround Sue
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
A keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Yeah keep away from this girl
I don't know what she'll doe
Keep away from Sue
She likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she'll do now
@Cultura-Pop-Universal
Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
A keep away from a Runaround Sue
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
A keep away from-a Runaround Sue
ohhhh ohhhho ohhhhh
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Yeah keep away from this girl
I don't know what she'll doe
Keep away from Sue
She likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she'll do now
@staveproduction2662
Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
A keep away from a Runaround Sue
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
A keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Yeah keep away from this girl
I don't know what she'll doe
Keep away from Sue She likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she'll do now
@tonyaelliott4070
What an amazing talent Del Shannon was. I may not know much but I know talent when I hear it. I loved you Del Shannon and always will!
@sunryse111
Thousands agree with you, Tonya.
@theccpisaparasite8813
Yes he was. He really shine here. Outstanding cover. Brought instantly to my mind how damned good Dion was (is)
@fhb3
Del Shannon's version of "Runaround Sue" and Dion's cover of "Runaway" have basically made the musical universe fall in on itself...
And I love EVERY minute of it. Well done!
@sunryse111
Thanks Felix - a spectacular comment.
@doom2urlife303
@The CCP is a parasite I always thought del shannons version was first? was it Dion? damn 5yrs ago you aint gonna see this but maybe someone will lol
@pedroasencios1163
Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
A keep away from a Runaround Sue
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
A keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
Yeah keep away from this girl
I don't know what she'll doe
Keep away from Sue
She likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she'll do now
@TigerRogers0660
I might be in the minority but i've always loved Del's version of this! Thumbs up Victor! Cheers Tiger.
@sunryse111
+Tiger Moth I love all his stuff, Tiger. Thanks for the thumbs up.
@samael5552
same