Run Baby Run
Eric Clapton & Sheryl Crow Lyrics

She was born in November 1963
The woman was born during a year of peace and war, seemingly an awareness of the turbulence of those times.

The day Aldous Huxley died
The woman was born on the same day that Aldous Huxley, a renowned novelist and philosopher, died.

And her mama believed
The woman's mother held a strong belief.

That every man could be free
Her mother believed in the universal liberation of all humans.

So her mama got high, high, high
The woman's mother had used drugs, intensively.

And her daddy marched on Birmingham
The woman's father took part in marches in the US city of Birmingham.

Singing mighty protest songs
The woman's father would sing songs of protest.

And he pictured all the places
He dreamt of places.

That he knew that she belonged
These were places that he believed his daughter belonged in.

But he failed and taught her young
However, he failed to ensure that she would end up in said places, but passed on the knowledge of how to survive and carry on to her.

The only thing she's need to carry on
She learned what she could carry with her to get through hardships.

He taught her how to
Her father showed her how to take care of herself.

Run baby run baby run baby run
When in doubt, she learned that running was a good option.

Baby run
Hence the repetition of "baby run" in the chorus.

Past the arms of the familiar
To get out of a difficult situation, she learned to leave the comforts of the familiar.

And their talk of better days
She can't rely upon the comforting notion that things will get better, especially if she stays around with people or situations in her comfort zone.

To the comfort of the strangers
In a twist of words, to her strangers represent comfort because they don't have the baggage of her past or present.

Slipping out before they say
She recognizes when the time is right to leave a place or a group, especially before anyone notices.

So long
A short way of saying ``goodbye.``

Baby loves to run
A seemingly innate pattern of behavior emerged in her: she prefers to run (away) when confronted with difficult situations.

She counts out all her money
When she is traveling, she accounts for all of her financial assets.

In the taxi on the way to meet her plane
She must hurriedly recount her funds before heading to the airport.

Stares hopeful out the window
She observes the world with hope and optimism, while sitting in the vehicle.

At the workers fighting
Looking out, she sees working-class people who are in clashes.

Through the pouring rain
These people are battling in the pouring rain.

She's searching through the stations
She is flipping through the stations on the radio.

For an unfamiliar song
The woman is searching for something new and fresh to listen to.

And she's pictures all the places
She pictures in her mind all the places in her future.

Where she knows she still belongs
She is not fixated on the past or present; instead, she considers the possibilities of the future, imagining where she could belong.

And she smiles the secret smile
There is a twinkle in her eye as she thinks about the future.

Because she knows exactly how
She is confident in the way things will work out.

To carry on
She knows how to keep going, and she will keep going and moving forward.

From the old familiar faces and
In order to move forward, she must break free from old, familiar people and places.

Their old familiar ways
She needs to find another way to thrive, because the old ways and people are limited and holding her back.

To the comfort of the strangers
She seeks comfort in the new, unfamiliar people and places.

Slipping out before they say
She has to leave before these new comfort zones become too familiar, and perhaps uncomfortable.

So long
Goodbye.

Baby loves to run
It's as if she is repeating this learning cycle and has an impulse to keep on running.