Urban was born in Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand (on 26 October, 1967). Before he turned two years old his family moved to Australia. By age seven, Urban was already thinking about emigrating to America and making his mark in Nashville. Urban began to learn the guitar at age six and began winning talent contests at age eight. By twelve he was booking his band in local clubs, and at fifteen he quit school to hit the road. In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first solo album, which charted four No. 1 country hits in Australia. In 1992, he moved to Nashville to pursue the largest country music market in the world. Originally the front man for The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997 to critical acclaim, Urban disbanded the group to pursue a solo career.
In the late 90's Urban battled an addiction to cocaine. After reaching a personal rock bottom in 1998, he became determined to give up the habit and checked into Cumberland Heights, a treatment center in Nashville. After cleaning up, Urban released his self-titled American debut in 2000, achieving three top 5 hits and securing the title of Top New Male Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards. Urban, openly regarded as a modern day guitar virtuoso, has performed as a session musician on albums such as Garth Brooks' Double Live and the Dixie Chicks' Fly.
In an attempt to gain more exposure, Keith then appeared semi-nude in an interview for Playgirl magazine's April 2001 issue. The publicity attempt worked as Keith was on the cover of the magazine's readers' most requested issue.
Keith Urban released Golden Road in 2002, and the success of the single "Somebody Like You" sent his career into high gear. The single spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the charts, remaining at No. 1 longer than any other country artist in 2002. Three other singles were released, two went to No. 1 and the third was No. 3. The album went platinum in every country where it has been released and is triple platinum in the United States. In 2004 Be Here was released and nominated for best country album at the Grammy Awards and at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Out of the five singles released from Be Here, three went No. 1, and two fell just shy of that mark to land at No. 2. In 2006 the album went triple platinum in the U.S. Urban has also released Days Go By, a greatest hits collection, in Europe. With a career total of 13 singles released, seven singles went to No. 1, two went to No.2, two went to No.3, one went to No. 4, and one went to No.18.
Touring as a supporting act for renowned country acts Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney honed Urban's skills and stage-craft. Country video channel CMT signed on as the title sponsor of Keith Urban's first headlining arena tour titled Keith Urban Be Here '04. Urban continued his meteoric rise to fame in 2005 with the very successful Alive in '05 tour. He performed in the Live 8 Philadelphia concert on July 2, 2005 and had been chosen by The Gap to appear alongside seven other musical stars in their "Favorites" campaign. In 2005 he was named CMA's Entertainer of the Year. He released a DVD in late September entitled Livin' Right Now, recorded in California on December 2004. Urban performed "Better Life" on the CMA Awards and "You'll Think of Me" on the American Music Awards. He also performed at the Grammys playing "You'll Think of Me" and "The Lucky One" with Faith Hill. At the 2006 ACM Awards Urban gave two performances when he performed "Tonight I Wanna Cry" and played guitar for Brooks & Dunn's song "Believe."
Personal life
On arriving in Nashville, Tennessee in 1992, Urban quickly fell for veterinary technician Laura Sigler. The pair shared an on-off relationship from 1992, and lived together between 1998 and 2002. Urban paid tribute to Sigler in the sleeve notes to his self-titled first hit album, and dedicated love song "You're The Only One" to Sigler, writing "For Laura" at the bottom of the lyrics. After proposing to Sigler in 2001, the pair broke up in 2002.
In 2002, after his painful breakup with Sigler, Urban met supermodel Niki Taylor, who played his love interest in his music video for "Somebody Like You." Taylor had told her hair/makeup person, Debra Wingo, that she might be interested in being in a country music video. Wingo also does hair/makeup for Urban, and she mentioned that he was getting ready to do a video. Urban and Taylor dated on and off for three years until their split was officially announced July 2005.
Urban met actress Nicole Kidman at an event in Hollywood in January of 2005. In May of 2006, Urban and Kidman announced their engagement, and their plans to wed in Australia. They got married in Australia on 25 June 2006 at the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel in the grounds of St Patrick's Estate, Manly, Sydney.
Whenever I Run
Keith Urban Lyrics
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The sun come up and the rain fall down
And I've been a fool, yeah I've been around
And when the world got too much for me
I took off and left a memory
Thinking I'd find something better for me somehow
Oh but now
[Chorus]
Whenever I run
Instead of running into the blue
I follow my heart
And there in your arms
Is where I find the love I need
And the best is yet to come
Baby you're the one I run to
I used to quit when it got too tough
Throw in my cards when I was down on my luck
But baby you mean too much to me
So now
[Chorus]
I never could stay in one place too long
I never could stand that still
Ah but you changed so much in me
And now I know I will
I'm gonna stay where the love is right
I'm so tired of being a bird in flight
Good love takes work
Ah but that's alright
That's alright
[Chorus]
Instead of running into the blue
I follow my heart
And there in your arms
That's where I find the love I need
And the best is yet to come
Baby you're the one I run to
The one I run to
The one I run to
In Keith Urban's song Whenever I Run, he speaks about his experiences of running away whenever things get tough. He talks about how he has been a fool and how he has seen the darkness on the edge of town, yet he never stays in one place for too long. He has always been the person who would take off whenever the world became too much for him, hoping to find something better for himself. He admits to quitting when it gets tough and throwing in the towel when his luck turns sour.
However, he discovered something worth holding onto, something worth staying for, and someone worth running to every time he has to run away. In the chorus, Urban talks about running to the person he loves instead of running away. He follows his heart and finds love in her arms. Even though he used to be the type of person to leave whenever things got too difficult, he has now become someone who stays where the love is right. Good love takes work, but it's worth it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've seen that darkness on the edge of town
I have witnessed the hardships and struggles of life that are on the outskirts of civilization
The sun come up and the rain fall down
I have experienced the cycle of life that brings rain and sunshine
And I've been a fool, yeah I've been around
I have made foolish decisions and been involved in various situations
And when the world got too much for me
When I could no longer handle the pressures of the world
I took off and left a memory
I left behind my past and created a new memory to look back on
Thinking I'd find something better for me somehow
Believing that there was something better for me out there somewhere
Whenever I run
Every time I run
Instead of running into the blue
Rather than aimlessly running away
I follow my heart
I listen to my innermost desires
And there in your arms
And finding comfort and love in your embrace
Is where I find the love I need
I find the love and support I require in my life
And the best is yet to come
The best experiences and opportunities are still ahead of me
Baby you're the one I run to
You are the person I trust and turn to for comfort and strength
I used to quit when it got too tough
I used to give up when things became difficult
Throw in my cards when I was down on my luck
I would give up in the face of bad fortune
But baby you mean too much to me
But I care too much about you to give up
I never could stay in one place too long
I was never able to remain in one location for extended periods of time
I never could stand that still
I could never tolerate being stagnant and stationary for long
Ah but you changed so much in me
But you caused such a significant change in me
And now I know I will
And now I know that I will remain by your side
I'm gonna stay where the love is right
I will remain where love is genuine and true
I'm so tired of being a bird in flight
I am exhausted from always being on the move
Good love takes work
Sustaining a healthy and loving relationship requires effort and dedication
Ah but that's alright
But I am at peace with this realization
The one I run to
The person I choose to seek solace and comfort in
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: SHELLY PEIKEN, JOHN SHANKS, KEITH URBAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind