He began playing mandolin in the early career with Nickel Creek, but later switched to guitar. Sean made it to the National Flatpicking Championship in 1993 at age 16. Now Nickel Creek has exploded in the contemporary folk/bluegrass scene. This Watkins has already released 3 solo albums and appeared on many others. Of this experience, Watkins has said, "I've learned now to look back to music that has lasted through the years and to appreciate the timeless value that it has."
Sean's first album Let it Fall consists primarily of bluegrass inspired instrumental tracks. Providing the vocals on the only sung track on the album is former Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips. Sean's second album, 26 Miles was a much bigger departure from bluegrass. While still mainly acoustic, the album showed influences from jazz, indie rock, and new age music. His third album, Blinder's On continues along many of the same lines as the previous one.
It was recently announced on Nickel Creek's website that the band would go on hiatus at the end of 2007. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Sean states that he plans to make music for movies.
Run Away Girl
Sean Watkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That I don't see in you
Some terrible secret flaw that no one could excuse
I've tried to hide you from my mind
And make myself forget
Please don't try to stay
We'll only make what's clean a mess
Run away now
Run away girl
The way that you smile at me
Isn't helping much at all
Please try not to laugh it only makes me want you more
We both know this could never be
But I can't let you go
Run away girl
Run away now...
What if you thought you saw a ghost
A hundred times a day
What if the thing you wanted most
Was impossible to say
Run away girl
Run away now...
The song "Run Away Girl" by Sean Watkins is a poignant reflection on the pain that surfaces when we know that someone we love is not good for us, but we can't help wanting them anyway. The singer begins by asking the girl to show him something wrong about her, some "terrible secret flaw" that will make it easier for him to forget her. He implores her not to stay because he fears that their relationship will just turn something clean into a mess. Despite his efforts to push her away, he can't help feeling drawn to her, and her smile and laughter only make it worse.
The chorus of "Run Away Girl" contains a sense of desperation and longing for the girl to leave, to run away from the singer and save them both from the pain and heartache that their relationship would inevitably bring. The singer recognizes that their love could never be, but he still finds himself unable to let go. The final verse poses a series of rhetorical questions, asking the listener to imagine what it would be like to chase after something that is ultimately impossible to attain.
Overall, "Run Away Girl" captures the complicated emotions that arise when we find ourselves falling for someone who isn't good for us. It's a song about recognizing the reality of a situation, even when it's painful, and ultimately letting go in order to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Please show me there's something wrong
I need you to reveal some flaw that would make it easier for me to let go of you.
That I don't see in you
I can't see any major problems with you on my own.
Some terrible secret flaw that no one could excuse
I'm hoping for an unforgivable flaw that would justify my desire to run away from you.
I've tried to hide you from my mind
I've attempted to forget about you and move on.
And make myself forget
I've tried my best to erase all thoughts and feelings related to you.
Please don't try to stay
Please leave me alone and don't make this any harder than it already is.
We'll only make what's clean a mess
If we continue to interact, it will just make things complicated and unpleasant.
The way that you smile at me
Your smile is making it difficult for me to resist you.
Isn't helping much at all
Actually, your smile is only making things worse.
Please try not to laugh it only makes me want you more
When you laugh, it intensifies my feelings for you and makes me want you more.
We both know this could never be
Deep down, we both realize that our relationship cannot work.
But I can't let you go
Despite knowing that it won't work out, I am unable to move on and let go of you.
What if you thought you saw a ghost
What if you were haunted by something that you couldn't shake off, no matter how hard you tried?
A hundred times a day
It's something that keeps coming back to you, over and over again.
What if the thing you wanted most
What if the thing you desired the most was also the thing that you could never have?
Was impossible to say
You couldn't even put your feelings into words, it was that intense and overwhelming.
Run away girl
Please leave me alone and go away.
Run away now
I need you to leave immediately and not come back.
Run away girl
Please go away and let me move on with my life.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: SEAN WATKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind