Run For Your Life

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This article is about the song by The Beatles. For the 1960s TV series starring Ben Gazzara, see Run for Your Life (TV series).


"Run For Your Life"
"Run For Your Life" cover
Song by The Beatles
from the album Rubber Soul
Released December 3, 1965
Recorded November 11, 1965
Genre Rock
Length 2:18
Label Parlophone, Capitol, EMI
Writer(s) John Lennon (Lennon-McCartney)
Producer(s) George Martin
Rubber Soul track listing
If I Needed Someone
(11)
"'Run For Your Life'"
(14)

"Run For Your Life" is a song by The Beatles which first appeared on the 1965 album Rubber Soul.

The song, while credited to "Lennon/McCartney" (as were all Beatles songs by either composer), was primarily a John Lennon composition. Reflecting his negative, even misogynistic view of male-female relationships at the time, the song lyrics establish a threatening tone towards the singer's unnamed girlfriend (referred to throughout the song as "little girl"), claiming "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man". Lennon designated this song his "least favorite Beatles song" in a 1973 interview, and later said it was the song he most regretted writing.

The line "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man", which was the intial inspiration of the song, is actually a direct lift from the Elvis Presley song "Baby, Let's Play House". Lennon admitted this in a number of interviews. He also stated that this song was one of George Harrison's favourite songs on Rubber Soul at that time despite Lennon's dislike of it.[1]

Lennon would revisit this theme in a more apologetic fashion with his post-Beatles song "Jealous Guy".

A 1966 version of "Run for Your Life" performed by Nancy Sinatra was released on her album Boots. Although it did not chart nationally, this version experienced regional success at such stations as WPTR in New York.

Beatles' spoof thrash metal band Beatallica recorded a version of this song in a live gig in Cleveland, Ohio, with only some alterations to the lyrics, and not changing the title. [1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The Playboy Interviews With John Lennon and Yoko Ono; conducted by David Sheff; edited by G. Barry Golson; Playboy Press, New York: 1981


The Beatles
John Lennon | Paul McCartney | George Harrison | Ringo Starr
Pete Best | Stuart Sutcliffe
Management
Brian Epstein | Allen Klein | Neil Aspinall | Apple Records
Production
George Martin | Geoff Emerick | Norman Smith | Phil Spector | Abbey Road Studios | Jeff Lynne
Official studio albums
Please Please Me (1963) | With the Beatles (1963) | A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Beatles for Sale (1964) | Help! (1965) | Rubber Soul (1965) | Revolver (1966)  | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | The Beatles (The White Album) (1968) | Yellow Submarine (1969) | Abbey Road (1969) | Let It Be (1970)
Filmography
A Hard Day's Night (1964) | Help! (1965) | Magical Mystery Tour (1967) | Yellow Submarine (1968) | Let It Be (1970)
Related articles
Line-ups | Bootlegs | Discography | Love (Cirque du Soleil) | Lennon/McCartney | Anthology | Influence | The Quarrymen | London | Beatlemania | Fifth Beatle | Paul is dead | British Invasion | Apple Corps | Northern Songs | Yoko Ono | Billy Preston | Tony Sheridan | Jimmy Nicol
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