In a review of his debut single, ''Say Anything,'' Billboard magazine praised the newcomer citing, ''It's a strong debut that displays McAnally's gifts as both a writer and vocalist.'' Billboard calls ''Are Your Eyes Still Blue,'' an appealing uptempo number... production is crisp and flatters McAnally's energetic performance... his voice perfectly conveys the sense of longing and resignation in the lyric.'' Of the most recent single, ''Run Away,'' radio veteran Tim Closson claims, ''Shane has created his own category.'' Now, with his long anticipated debut album, SHANE McANALLY due in stores October 24, he is ready to do just that.
McAnally began performing at the age of 12 and started writing songs when he was 6. By age 15, he was a featured performer at the Texans Theater in Branson, Missouri. After his run at the theater, he went back to Texas where he performed at the Johnny High Music Review, as well as at various festivals. ''It's hard to imagine a time when music didn't encompass some part of my day. As a kid, I was always singing,'' he remembers.
As Shane began to prepare for the future, it was hard for him to foresee music being a tangible career choice. However, he realized while studying accounting at the University of Texas at Austin that music was his passion, and he had to give it his all. ''One day at the end of my second semester I was in a chemistry class and, instead of taking notes, I found myself writing a song,'' he admits. ''Music is always something I have had a knack for and have truly enjoyed.''
Soon after his arrival in Nashville and a lucky break on the famed Bluebird stage, Shane met with Curb Music Publishing. There, he was provided with the encouragement to work on the craft of songwriting and introduced to Rich Herring, a singer/songwriter who wanted to produce. Herring and McAnally collaborated on the demo of Shane's song, ''Just One Touch.'' It was an unforgettable experience for him. ''Rich would put a guitar track down, I sang to it, then he produced around it. When he came to me with the finished song, I could not believe what I heard! It was exactly what I had dreamed of.''
Ultimately, a year later, that demo landed Shane a producer, a publishing deal and a recording contract. He began co-writing with Herring, as well as other songwriters. Shane found that collaborating allowed him to really stretch himself as a songwriter and to hone in on his musical style. McAnally prides himself on writing detailed songs about real situations. He is influenced by the vocals of Marty Robbins, Ronnie Milsap, and The Judds, as well as the entertaining style of Barbara Mandrell. ''The way the crowd would respond to those artists and the connection they had with their audiences
'' I want to do what they did,'' says McAnally. ''It's an extremely dramatic process,'' McAnally says of his musical evolution.
Along with Rich Herring, famed producer Brian Ahern (Emmylou Harris, Anne Murray) and Mark Bright are also part of Shane's musical team. ''He's a musical genius,'' says Shane of Ahern. ''He's very earthy and raw, just what I wanted. He took the time to say 'What do you want to do?' The sides we cut with Brian and Rich are amazing! It's not because of my vocals or because of the songs. It's because of the combination we all brought to the record.''
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Run Away
Shane McAnally Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Telephones, Traffic lights, Work all day, Work all night
We're too young to let life pass us by
Let's Run Away tonight
And Make Sweet love under the stars
Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark
Fall asleep in in each others arms and just dream
Remember when we use to say we'd never rush, now look at us
We're running down a dream we swore we'd never chase,
what a waste of time we could be spending together,
We should be doing something better
Like Making Sweet love under the stars
Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark
Fall asleep in in each others arms and just dream
Baby Run Away with me
Run Away (Run Away)
Run Away (Run Away)
Run Away (Run Away)
Run Away hey
Making Sweet love under the stars
Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark
Fall asleep in in each others arms and just dream
Baby Run Away with
Making Sweet love under the stars
Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark
Fall asleep in in each others arms and just dream
Baby Run Away with me
The lyrics to Shane McAnally's song "Run Away" capture the essence of youthful freedom and the desire for adventure. The opening lines paint a picture of a hasty departure, with the singer and their lover eager to leave behind the monotony of everyday life. As they hit the road, they revel in the excitement of leaving their troubles behind and embracing the unknown. The repeated refrain of "Let's Run Away tonight" underscores the urgency of their desire to escape and seek out something new and exciting.
As the song progresses, the lyrics take on a more romantic tone, with the singer expressing a longing for physical and emotional intimacy with their lover. The lyrics "Make Sweet love under the stars/Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark/Fall asleep in each others arms and just dream" paint a vivid picture of a night spent wrapped in each other's arms, lost in their own world. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the desire to escape and seek out new experiences, to take risks and live in the moment.
Overall, the lyrics of "Run Away" capture the overwhelming feeling of being young and free, of the desire to live life to the fullest and pursue one's dreams. The song reminds us that sometimes it's important to take a step back from our daily routine and embrace the unexpected, to take a chance on love and adventure.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake in the morning and we're up and gone, before the dawn
We leave very early in the morning, before the sun comes up.
Telephones, Traffic lights, Work all day, Work all night
Our lives are busy with work and technology, it feels like we can never take a break.
We're too young to let life pass us by
We don't want to waste our youth and let life slip away from us.
Let's Run Away tonight
We should escape our busy lives and go on an adventure together tonight.
And Make Sweet love under the stars
We should make love while looking up at the stars in the sky.
Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark
We should dance together and feel the rhythm of our hearts in the darkness.
Fall asleep in in each others arms and just dream
We should cuddle and fall asleep together while dreaming about our future together.
Remember when we use to say we'd never rush, now look at us
We used to say that we wouldn't rush through life, but now we find ourselves doing just that.
We're running down a dream we swore we'd never chase, what a waste of time we could be spending together
We're pursuing a dream that we thought we didn't care about, but it's taking up all our time and keeping us apart.
We should be doing something better
We need to stop chasing that dream and instead focus on doing something that will make us happy together.
Run Away (Run Away)
We should escape our busy lives and run away together.
Making Sweet love under the stars
We should make love while looking up at the stars in the sky.
Dancing to a heartbeat alone in the dark
We should dance together and feel the rhythm of our hearts in the darkness.
Fall asleep in in each others arms and just dream
We should cuddle and fall asleep together while dreaming about our future together.
Baby Run Away with me
We should escape our busy lives and go on an adventure together.
Contributed by Anna D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.