Jim Adams’ challenge for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday is one word song titles. There are so many to choose from. The one that has been on my radar lately is “Run.” With lyrics by Gary Lightbody and music composed along with his bandmates Iain Archer, Jonathan Quinn, Mark McClelland, and Nathan Connolly, the Northern Irish band Snow Patrol released the song in 2004. It peaked on the Irish Singles Chart at 25 and on the UK Singles Chart at 5.
“Run” has been covered by multiple diverse performers, most notably English singer Leona Lewis, who first performed it on a live BBC Radio show in late 2007. She recorded and released it as a digital single in 2008 after she won the UK’s singing competition television show “X Factor.” Lewis’s version shot to number 1, becoming UK’s fastest selling digital release ever, with 69,244 downloads in the first two days. Following her success with the song, Snow Patrol’s original re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number 28.
The videos following the lyrics listed below are live versions recorded circa Snow Patrol’s and Leona Lewis’s original release dates.
“Run“
I’ll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You’ve been the only thing that’s right
In all I’ve done
And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we’ll make it anywhere
Away from here
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear
Louder louder
And we’ll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can’t raise your voice to say
To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear
Louder louder
And we’ll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can’t raise your voice to say
Slower slower
We don’t have time for that
All I want’s to find an easy way
To get out of our little heads
Have heart, my dear
We’re bound to be afraid
Even if it’s just for a few days
Making up for all this mess
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear
J.E.M. Wildfire 
A Lovely choice, much enjoyed!
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Very nice Judi. Gary Lightbody said that this is the song that he is most proudest of writing. I was not familar with Leona Lewis, bur she has a beautiful voice.
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I had forgotten to mention that Gary Lightbody thought Leona Lewis’s version was “phenomenal.”
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