Todd Rundgren is an American singer-songwriter and producer who has perform… Read Full Bio ↴Todd Rundgren is an American singer-songwriter and producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as founder of the band Utopia. Starting in the 1960s with the psychedelic band Nazz in Philadelphia, his solo career started out successfully with such hits as "I Saw the Light" and "Hello It's Me" (a reworked Nazz tune). With his 1972 release 'Something/Anything?' seen as a magnum opus due to its mix of power pop, rock n roll, and more. Utopia (or Todd Rundgren's Utopia) concentrated on eccentric progressive epics. His acclaimed production effort started early, with work for Sparks and the New York Dolls, and continued with Meat Loaf, XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, and many others. Continuing to release solo albums over the years, he's created many other hits, the novelty tune "Bang the Drum All Day" in particular seeming timeless.

Rundgren is well known among his fans as being an electronic music revolutionary. His skilled production techniques, matched by his belief that he has ability to play just about any instrument at a mastery level, has allowed him to release some of the most honest and personal music of his time. Many of his solo albums, including Something/Anything?]' were made completely by himself. That is, he played all the instruments, sang all the vocals, did all of the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering.

Website: http://www.tr-i.com/

Core discography:

With Nazz:
1968 - Nazz
1969 - Nazz Nazz
1970 - Nazz III

Solo:
1970 - Runt
1971 - Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
1972 - Something/Anything?
1973 - A Wizard, a True Star
1974 - Todd
1975 - Initiation
1976 - Faithful
1978 - Hermit of Mink Hollow
1978 - Back to the Bars (live)
1981 - Healing
1983 - The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
1985 - A Cappella
1989 - Nearly Human
1991 - 2nd Wind
1993 - No World Order
1995 - The Individualist
1997 - With a Twist
1998 - Up Against It
2000 - One Long Year
2003 - Can't Stop Running (live box set)
2004 - Liars
2008 - Arena
2011 - Todd Rundgren's Johnson
2011 - (re)Production
2013 - State
2015 - Global
2015 - Runddans (collaboration with Emil Nikolaisen and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm)
2017 - White Knight

With Utopia:
1974 - Todd Rundgren's Utopia
1975 - Another Live
1976 (released 2001) - Disco Jets
1977 - Ra
1977 - Oops! Wrong Planet
1980 - Adventures in Utopia
1980 - Deface the Music
1982 - Swing to the Right
1982 - Utopia
1984 - Oblivion
1985 - P.O.V.
2003 - Last of the New Wave Riders (live box set)

Trapped
Todd Rundgren Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Brother John saw visions of God
So they put him in chains
For acting too odd
As the crowd shouted, "Off with his head"
The priest said, "Have mercy
Let's burn him instead"
Trapped
Trapped in a world that he never made

I woke up with my head on the floor
In a windowless cell
A room full of doors
I got lost, now I'm so far behind
Took so much advice
Forgot my own mind
Trapped
Trapped in a world that I never made
We can't be slowed down by a big bunch of lip
And nobody cares about your paranoid trip
You know death and the devil sure got it easy today
Souls come so cheap some people give theirs away
You've got to break out, you've got to prove you're alive
What makes you think that the weak survive
And if you don't have the stomach
For all this radical crap
Then have the guts to stand for something
Or you're gonna be trapped

Trapped
Trapped in a world that you never made

Overall Meaning

Todd Rundgren's song "Trapped" discusses the feeling of being trapped within a society where the individual has no place. The first verse is about Brother John, who had mystical visions of God, but was seen as odd by the rest of society. The response of the crowd was to put him in chains and potentially execute him. The priest tries to convince the crowd to show mercy, but instead they will burn him instead. This represents the idea that society tries to suppress those who stand out or are different from what is considered the norm.

The second verse follows with a personal narrative of waking up in a windowless cell with doors leading to many different paths. The singer is lost and overwhelmed with advice, forgetting their own mind. This speaks to the idea that society can cause us to lose touch with what we truly believe in and what makes us unique. The chorus repeats the idea of being trapped in a world that one did not create, emphasizing the larger societal pressures.

The third verse speaks to the idea of being weighed down by criticism and potential criticism from others in society. The singer urges the listener not to let others slow them down or dictate their choices. They point out that the truly bad things in the world (death and evil) seem to come cheaply, while people give up their souls and individuality to fit into societal norms. The final line of the song emphasizes the importance of standing for something and being true to oneself or be perpetually trapped in a society that does not value individuality.

Line by Line Meaning

Brother John saw visions of God
Brother John claimed to have seen visions of God

So they put him in chains
As a result, they put him in chains

For acting too odd
Considered eccentric

As the crowd shouted, "Off with his head"
The public called for his execution

The priest said, "Have mercy Let's burn him instead"
The priest pleaded for compassion, but later suggested burning him

Trapped
Emotionally and physically confined

Trapped in a world that he never made
Inability to control the world he is living in

I woke up with my head on the floor In a windowless cell A room full of doors
Disturbing and strange living conditions

I got lost, now I'm so far behind Took so much advice Forgot my own mind
Feeling lost and disoriented while trying to follow too much advice

We can't be slowed down by a big bunch of lip And nobody cares about your paranoid trip
Don't get distracted by meaningless talk and people won't take your absurd ideas seriously

You know death and the devil sure got it easy today Souls come so cheap some people give theirs away
People are too quick to sell their souls cheaply

You've got to break out, you've got to prove you're alive What makes you think that the weak survive
To survive and thrive, one must take action and not be weak

And if you don't have the stomach For all this radical crap
If you can't handle unconventional ideas

Then have the guts to stand for something Or you're gonna be trapped
Take a stand or risk being trapped

Trapped Trapped in a world that you never made
Emotionally and physically confined, unable to control the world

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN WILCOX, KASIM SULTON, ROGER POWELL, TODD RUNDGREN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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