Running Wild
The Benny Goodman Quartet Lyrics

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My gal and I, we had a fight
And I'm all by myself
I guess she thinks now that she's gone
I'll lay right on the shelf
I'm gonna show her she's all wrong
No lonesome stuff for mine
I won't sit home, all alone
She'll soon find that I'm

Runnin' wild, lost control
Runnin' wild, mighty bold
Feelin' gay, reckless too
Care free mind all the time, never blue
Always goin' don't know where
Always showin', I don't care
Don't love nobody, it's not worth while
All alone, runnin' wild. Runnin' wild

When I first met that gal of mine
It seemed just like a dream
But when she tho't she had me right
She started actin' mean
Like mary led her little lamb
She led me all the time
Until the worm had to turn
That's the reason I'm

Runnin' wild, lost control
Runnin' wild, mighty bold
Feelin' gay, reckless too
Care free mind all the time, never blue
Always goin' don't know where
Always showin', I don't care
Don't love nobody, it's not worth while
All alone, runnin' wild. Runnin' wild

No gal will ever make a fool of me
No gal! I mean just what I say
I ain't the simpleton I used to be
Wonder how I got that way

Once I was full of sentiment, it's true
But now I got a cruel heart
With all that other foolishness I'm through
Gonna play the Villain part

Runnin' wild, lost control
Runnin' wild, mighty bold
Feelin' gay, reckless too
Care free mind all the time, never blue
Always goin' don't know where
Always showin', I don't care

Don't love nobody, it's not worth while
All alone, runnin' wild. Runnin' wild

Overall Meaning

The Benny Goodman Trio's song 'Runnin' Wild' is about a man who has a fight with his girlfriend and decides to show her that he doesn't need her. He is determined to prove to her that he can have just as much fun on his own and won't be sitting around feeling sorry for himself. The lyrics describe him as "runnin' wild, lost control" and "feelin' gay, reckless too", indicating that he is carefree and doing whatever he wants.

The song is also a rejection of romance and sentimentality. The singer declares that he "don't love nobody, it's not worth while" and that he's done with "all that other foolishness". He is embracing a new persona as a villain, someone who doesn't care about anyone else's feelings and is only out for his own enjoyment.

Overall, the song is a celebration of independence and freedom, but also a rejection of traditional values of love and commitment. It paints a picture of a man unshackled from the constraints of a relationship and free to do whatever he pleases.

Line by Line Meaning

My gal and I, we had a fight
My girlfriend and I had an argument

And I'm all by myself
Now I'm alone

I guess she thinks now that she's gone
I think she believes that I'll be depressed without her

I'll lay right on the shelf
She thinks I'll be inactive and sad

I'm gonna show her she's all wrong
But I'm going to prove her assumptions incorrect

No lonesome stuff for mine
I'm not going to be sad and mopey

I won't sit home, all alone
I won't stay at home by myself

She'll soon find that I'm
She'll learn that I'm

Runnin' wild, lost control
Acting crazy, without control

Runnin' wild, mighty bold
Being audacious while running wild

Feelin' gay, reckless too
Feeling happy and careless

Care free mind all the time, never blue
Having a carefree attitude all the time, never feeling sad

Always goin' don't know where
Constantly moving without a destination in mind

Always showin', I don't care
Always showing that I don't care

Don't love nobody, it's not worth while
I don't love anyone as it's not worth it

All alone, runnin' wild. Runnin' wild
Running wild while being alone

When I first met that gal of mine
When I first met my girl

It seemed just like a dream
It felt like a dream

But when she tho't she had me right
But when she thought she had control over me

She started actin' mean
She started acting cruel

Like mary led her little lamb
She acted like she was leading me around

She led me all the time
She controlled me all the time

Until the worm had to turn
Until I had to retaliate

That's the reason I'm
That's why I'm

No gal will ever make a fool of me
No woman will ever fool me again

No gal! I mean just what I say
I'm serious about that, no girl!

I ain't the simpleton I used to be
I'm not as naive as I was before

Wonder how I got that way
I wonder how I changed

Once I was full of sentiment, it's true
It's true that I used to be sentimental

But now I got a cruel heart
But now I have a heartless nature

With all that other foolishness I'm through
I'm done with being foolish in that way

Gonna play the Villain part
I'm going to act like a villain

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ARTHUR GIBBS, ARTHUR HARRINGTON GIBBS, JOSEPH GREY, JOSEPH W GREY, LEO WOOD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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