A former staff writer for PolyGram Publishing in Nashville, Pettis' musical career was started in 1979 when Joan Baez covered his song, "Song at the End of the Movie", on her album Honest Lullaby. Following that release, Pettis became heavily involved in the "Fast Folk movement" in New York in the 1980s alongside artists such as Shawn Colvin and Suzanne Vega.
In 1984, Pettis released his first independent solo album, Moments, followed by a string of releases for High Street Records; While the Serpent Lies Sleeping, Tinseltown and Chase the Buffalo. None of these releases have made Pettis a household name, but his music has become extremely popular with other artists. His songs have been covered by artists like Dar Williams ("Family" on Mortal City), Garth Brooks ("You Move Me" on Sevens), Dion & the Belmonts, Sara Groves, Randy Stonehill and others.
In the early 1990s, Pettis developed a working relationship with songwriter and producer Mark Heard. Pettis was performing with Heard at the Cornerstone Festival in July of 1992, when Heard had a heart attack on stage. Heard finished the show, but collapsed off-stage afterwards and died the following August. That loss led to the start of a tradition for Pettis, who has started off each of his albums with one of Heard's songs since 1993's Chase the Buffalo, where he recorded Heard's "Nod Over Coffee". Other Heard covers include "Satellite Sky" (1996's Making Light of It), "Tip of My Tongue" (1998's Everything Matters), "Rise from the Ruins" (2001's State of Grace) and "Another Day in Limbo" (2004's Great Big World.) Pettis also appeared on a 1994 tribute to Heard entitled Strong Hand of Love.
In 1996, Pettis signed on with Compass Records and released Making Light of It, produced by David Miner (T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello), and featuring Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong of The Choir.
Two years later Everything Matters was released, produced by Grammy award winning Gordon Kennedy (who is best known for co-writing Eric Clapton's "Change the World.") Pettis followed that release with State of Grace in 2001, which featured cover art by the late southern folk artist Howard Finster.
2001 saw Pettis' most regionally oriented album, State of Grace released. 2004's Great Big World record saw Pettis collaborating with a number of other songwriters. In 2009 That Kind of Love included less of a regional focus. 2013 saw Pettis, along with Tom Kimmel and Kate Campbell, form the New Agrarians and release a debut album on the independent Due South label.
2019 saw the release of his album "Father's Son".
Pettis tours frequently, alternating between solo shows, concerts with the New Agrarians, and a double bill with his daughter Grace Pettis.
Can't Get Away From My Love
Pierce Pettis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no way you can lose,
You may choose to abuse it if that's what you wanna do,
There's no way you can earn it,
It does not come from a store,
And if you try to return it, oh, you will only get more,
Alright.
You can't get away,
You can't get away from my love,
You can't get away.
There's no way I can hide it,
There's no way I can hide,
I am exposed like a photograph, and you know pictures don't lie,
You have no choice in the matter,
This is beyond your control,
Oh, this is bigger than both of us,
It has a mind of its own, yeah.
You can't get away from my love,
You can't get away,
You can't get away from my love,
Can't get away.
Get away,
Oh, oh,
Away.
You can't outrun a bullet,
You can't outrun a prayer,
So pray the bullet won't find you while you sleep unaware,
Know your constant protector,
Never gonna let no evil intrude,
Oh, like a guardian angel my heart will watch over you, yeah.
Can't get away from my love,
You can't get away,
You can't get away from my love,
You can't get away.
I'm not sure you deserve this,
God knows what you deserve,
Complaining about the service,
You got one hell of a nerve.
Go ahead,
You can let out your anger 'til you're beside yourself,
You can sleep all alone at night or beside someone else,
But there's no way you can lose it, though you would if you could,
You'll come back by your own free will, just like l knew that you would, yeah.
You can't get away from my love,
Can't get away,
You can't get away from my love,
Can't get away,
You can't get away from my love,
You can't get away,
You can't get away from my love,
You can't get away.
Oh, get away,
Oh, get away,
Get away,
Oh, get away.
In "Can't Get Away From My Love," Pierce Pettis sings about the power of love and how it cannot be escaped, no matter how hard one tries. He starts by explaining that love cannot be lost or earned, and that it will only grow stronger with time. The chorus repeats the idea of love being inescapable, emphasizing the point that it will always be present no matter what.
Pettis then shifts the focus to the experience of the person in love. He says that he cannot hide his feelings, even though he may want to. Love is beyond his control, and it is bigger than both him and his partner. This idea of love as an external force, rather than solely an emotional state of mind, makes the song stand out from typical love songs.
The third verse addresses the protective nature of love. Pettis compares it to a bullet or a prayer that cannot be outrun. Love will always watch over and protect the person it belongs to, like a guardian angel. Finally, he acknowledges that love may not always be perfect, but it is always present. The person he is addressing may complain or get angry, but ultimately, they will come back to the love they cannot escape.
Overall, "Can't Get Away From My Love" is a song about the overpowering nature of love and how it transcends individual willpower. Pettis paints love as an external force of nature, impossible to control or resist.
Line by Line Meaning
There's no way you can lose it,
It's impossible for you to lose my love.
There's no way you can lose,
Even if you try to leave, there's no losing this love.
You may choose to abuse it if that's what you wanna do,
You have a choice to misuse my love or not.
There's no way you can earn it,
You can't buy or earn my love.
It does not come from a store,
My love is not something you can purchase from a store.
And if you try to return it, oh, you will only get more,
If you try to give my love back, I'll only love you more.
Can't get away from my love,
You can't escape or avoid my love.
You can't get away,
You're unable to leave my love behind.
There's no way I can hide it,
I can't conceal my love for you.
There's no way I can hide,
My love is out in the open and unable to be hidden.
I am exposed like a photograph, and you know pictures don't lie,
My feelings for you are clear and undisputed.
You have no choice in the matter,
You can't control or change my feelings for you.
This is beyond your control,
My love is something that can't be controlled or changed by you.
It has a mind of its own, yeah.
My love is separate from us and operates on its own.
You can't outrun a bullet,
Running away from my love is impossible and pointless.
You can't outrun a prayer,
My love is like a prayer that will always be with you.
So pray the bullet won't find you while you sleep unaware,
Hope that your lack of attention doesn't get in the way of my love for you.
Know your constant protector,
Understand that my love is always with you, protecting you.
Never gonna let no evil intrude,
My love will always keep evil away from you.
Like a guardian angel my heart will watch over you, yeah.
My love will always be there to guide and protect you.
I'm not sure you deserve this,
I'm uncertain if you're deserving of my love.
God knows what you deserve,
Only God knows if you deserve my love or not.
Complaining about the service,
You're complaining about something you received for free and didn't have to work for.
You got one hell of a nerve.
You're audacious to complain about my love for you.
You can let out your anger 'til you're beside yourself,
You can be as angry as you want, but it won't change my love for you.
You can sleep all alone at night or beside someone else,
You can choose to be alone or with someone else, but it doesn't change my love for you.
But there's no way you can lose it, though you would if you could,
You can't lose my love, even if you want to.
You'll come back by your own free will, just like l knew that you would, yeah.
Your love for me will bring you back to me, just like I predicted.
Contributed by Riley A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.