Nowhere to Run

"Nowhere to Run" is a 1965 soul single b/w "Motoring" by Martha & the Vandellas for the Gordy (Motown) label and is one of the group's signature songs. The song, written and produced by Motown's main production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, depicts the story of a woman trapped in a bad relationship with a man she cannot help but love. Holand-Dozier-Holland and the Funk Brothers band gave the song a large, brassy sound, with snow chains used as percussion alongside the tambourine and drums.

Included on their third album, Dance Party, "Nowhere to Run" hit number eight on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, and number five on the Billboard Black Singles (R&B) chart. It also charted in the UK peaking at number twenty-six on the chart.

[edit] Later use

The record's brass-heavy arrangement and chorus of "nowhere to run to, baby/nowhere to hide" have made the song a popular one at sporting events, whether played in its original version or reinterpreted by a marching band. The song has also been seen as one of the songs played heavy by troops during the Vietnam War and has since been a title and inspiration in TV shows such as Quantum Leap and Murphy Brown.

This song is contained within the in-game soundtrack of the PC game Battlefield Vietnam. It is also included in the soundtrack of Good Morning Vietnam.

This song is also featured in the 1995 movie, Crimson Tide.

Arnold McCuller performed a disco-style cover version which appeared on the soundtrack for The Warriors in 1979. A snippet was sung by Patti Scialfa as part of the mood-setting introduction to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's live version of "Cover Me", included on their album Live/1975-85. The song was also sampled by N.W.A. on their 1991 hit, "100 Miles and Runnin'". A cover version was featured in the 1991 film "The Commitments" (based upon the Roddy Doyle novel of the same name) as performed by Maria Doyle Kennedy (no relation). It was also sampled in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam.