Taylor's career in music performance and recording has taken a circuitous path. Born in Chicago 1948, and growing up in Denver after his family relocated there, he began listening to blues and folk-blues in his teens. Through Denver's Folklore Center, he began to play the blues. By 1977, though, he "retired" from music and had a successful antiques business. He returned to music when he was nearly 50, and having immersed himself in the history of the folklore of the blues, he traced the migration of both the blues and the banjo from its roots in Africa to its "birth" in the American south.
His music is uncompromising and fierce, and it walks the line of gritty and gorgeous well. He incorporates elements of the blues masters Johnson, Jefferson, McTell and others, but always makes the resulting music his own.
His return to performance and recording began in 1995, but it was his acceptance of a Sundance Festival composition fellowship in 2000 that sparked his emergence as a preeminent bluesman with When Negroes Walked The Earth. His song, 'Nasty Letter', plays over the credits at the end of the 2007 Mark Wahlberg film Shooter.
Ran So Hard The Sun Went Down
Otis Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Went back home and hid away.
Woke up wonderin' what'd I see?
I ran so hard the sun went down,
I ran so hard the moon came up,
The moon came up, The moon came up,
The moon came up, The moon came up.
I ran so hard the sun came down,
Ran so hard the moon came up,
The moon came up, The moon came up,
The moon came up, The moon came up.
Woo!
Woo!
Ran so hard the moon went up,
Run that up, Moon went up.
The moon went up, The moon went up,
The moon went up, The moon went up,
I ran so hard the sun went down,
Ran so hard the moon went up,
The moon went up, The moon went up,
The moon went up, The moon went up.
Woo!
Step on it!
Woo!
The moon went up, The moon went up,
The moon went up, The moon went up,
I ran so hard the sun came down,
I ran so hard the moon went up,
The moon went up, The moon went up,
The moon went up, The moon went up.
The lyrics to Otis Taylor's song "Ran So Hard the Sun Went Down" seem to be about feeling lost and running away from something. The first verse suggests that the singer had an encounter with someone they shouldn't have, and subsequently retreated into themselves. The repetition of the phrase "I ran so hard" throughout the song reinforces the idea that the singer is running away from their problems, both literally and figuratively. The fact that the sun and moon are mentioned as rising and falling suggests that the singer has been running for a long time, perhaps even all day and night. The repeated "woo" sounds throughout the song could be interpreted as a sort of primal scream, an expression of the singer's frustration and desperation.
Overall, the lyrics to "Ran So Hard the Sun Went Down" are open to interpretation, as many songs are. However, they seem to suggest a feeling of being lost, of running away from something, and of being unable to escape. The repetition in the song reinforces these feelings, and the use of the sun and moon as symbols adds a layer of metaphorical meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Spoke to the wrong person that day,
I had a conversation with someone that ended up being a mistake.
Went back home and hid away.
I retreated to the safety of my own home, likely to avoid further negative interactions.
Woke up wonderin' what'd I see?
The next day, I was still reeling and confused about what had happened the day before.
I ran so hard the sun went down,
I ran tirelessly, so much so that the sun set while I was still moving.
I ran so hard the moon came up,
I continued running into the night, not stopping until the moon appeared in the sky.
The moon came up, The moon came up,
This line serves as a refrain to emphasize the length of time I was running.
Woo!
A celebratory exclamation, perhaps indicating a sense of relief at completion of the run.
Ran so hard the moon went up,
Repeating the earlier line to further emphasize just how long the run went on for.
Run that up, Moon went up.
A play on words - the moon rising in the sky is being compared to a record being played over and over again ('run that up').
The moon went up, The moon went up,
Another refrain to reinforce the idea of how long the run went on for.
I ran so hard the sun came down,
Repeating an earlier line, again emphasizing how long the run went on for.
The moon went up, The moon went up,
Repeating the refrain yet again, to emphasize the length of time the run continued for.
Step on it!
An exclamation urging the listener (presumably the band) to keep playing energetically.
Contributed by Bailey F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Brook Robin Behrle
on Blue Rain In Africa
Every time I hear this song by Otis and band, I am moved to tears. It touches my heart and soul. It moves me say prayers for all Indigenous peoples of the world. Thank You Otis Taylor Band, for sharing your music and words.