Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the tied-record holder for the most Album of the Year wins, with three. He is also the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes.
Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the U.S. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway, and the second of Hardaway's two children with Calvin Judkins. He was born six weeks premature which, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.
Keep On Running
Stevie Wonder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some gonna grab you
Some gonna jump out of the bushes and grab you
Whole lotta folks, you better run faster
Some gonna grab you
Some gonna jump out of the bushes and grab you
Some gonna grab you
Yeah, yeah
Keep on running
Keep on running from my love
Keep on running, yeah
Keep on running from my love
Some folks say that you're really, really fine
All you wanna be is just a friend of mine
But I know, the man your with gonna break your heart
And you'll be sad real soon, yeah
Keep on running
Keep on running from my love
Keep on running, yeah
Keep on running from my love
Some folks say that you're really, really fine
But all you wanna be is just a friend of mine
But I know I'm gonna get you with him real soon
Why do you keep?
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Yeah, keep on running from
(Keep on running, running from my love)
I need you baby
(Keep on running, running from my love)
And everyday yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Oh
Keep on running
Keep on running from my love
Keep on running yeah
Keep on running from my love
Some folks say that your love is really good
All you wanna be is just a friend of mine
But I know, I'm gonna get you in the end
'Cause I need you so
Keep on running
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Yeah, keep on running baby
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Ah, can you hear me so, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Ah, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Hey, you gonna say it loud
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Oh, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Uh, you can shout it loud
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Something gonna get you, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
You can get it baby in my love
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Oh, yeah say
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Sing I love you so
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Sing, so
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Sing a little song for me
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Baby, you can bring me love
(Keep on running, running from my love)
I wanna hear
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Na na na na na na yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Everybody sing it with me, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Some's gonna grab you
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Some's gonna jump out of the bushes and grab you, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
keep on running baby
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
This is it
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
Keep on running
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Oh, yeh, yeah
(Keep on running, running from my love)
I'm getting tired of you running
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Can you feel it in the shoe babe?
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Hey, hey
(Keep on running, running from my love)
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, mama, mama, mama
(Keep on running, running from my love)
The lyrics to Stevie Wonder's "Keep On Running" are a plea for love from the singer to the object of their affection. The song starts with a warning; people are going to come for her, speak sweet words, befriend her, but in the end, they'll break her heart. The singer sees this and pleads with the woman to run towards them instead. The chorus serves as a declaration that the singer's love will give her a reason to keep on running towards them. The lyrics emphasize the importance of perseverance in love, as the singer promises to keep chasing after her until she finally relents and reciprocates his love.
One interpretation of the song could be that it is a call of reassurance. The singer sees the woman as scared, and the world as full of things that are going to hurt her. He wants her to know that he sees the world the same way, but he is going to protect her from it all. The chorus serves as a way of telling her that he's not going to give up on her, and that she can keep on running towards him, knowing that he will always be there to help her.
Line by Line Meaning
Some gonna get you
There are people who are going to try to catch you
Some gonna grab you
There are people who are going to try to grab you
Some gonna jump out of the bushes and grab you
Some of these people will jump out of hiding spots to catch you
Whole lotta folks, you better run faster
There are many people trying to catch you, so you better run quickly
Keep on running from my love
The singer is telling the subject of the song to keep running away from their love
Some folks say that you're really, really fine
Some people believe that you are very attractive
All you wanna be is just a friend of mine
The subject of the song only wants to be friends with the singer
But I know, the man your with gonna break your heart
The singer predicts that the subject's current partner will hurt them emotionally
And you'll be sad real soon, yeah
The singer believes that the subject will soon experience sadness because of their partner
But I know I'm gonna get you with him real soon
Despite the subject currently only wanting to be friends, the singer believes they will win their love soon
Keep on running baby
The singer is urging the subject to continue running away from his love
Something gonna get you, yeah
The singer is warning that there are people who will catch the subject
You can get it baby in my love
The singer believes that the subject will eventually be won over by his love
I'm getting tired of you running
The singer is expressing frustration with the subject continually running away from his love
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cheryl Rowland Hall
on Isn't She Lovely
Dedicated to my lovely daughter, Amy Kathleen Rawson, the lovely child who helped mom to grow up!