Running Man, 1980
Al Stewart & Peter White, performed by Al Stewart
Before the phone hits the receiver,
Youre halfway to the door.
The voice said Get out while you can,
Theres just ten minutes, nothing more.
Time only for the essentials
Better gather them and run:
The false name inside the passport,
The gold bars and the gun.
And once again theyve come out of the past,
And though your mind is cool, your heart is beating fast.
Youve been through it all before;
Each time you wish a little more that you could ask,
(chorus) "What do you want from me?
What do you need from me?
Theres no rest for the running man.
Why cant you let him be?"
Its a long and twisting journey
From the sweeping northern plains
To the outcrops of the jungle,
Bowed beneath the tropic rains.
In the customs hall the officer
Takes you to one side,
And his eyes reveal no feeling
As you hand over the bribe.
And once again youve bought a little time,
And once again youre fading out of sight,
Still the fox is growing older
As he calls over his shoulder to the night:
(chorus)
Here, come over here;
Beneath a sympathetic moon
Well sit and talk over old times without a fear.
Another beer? From the cafes of the night
The tumbling rhythms of guitars ring loud and clear.
(instrumental)
One by one theyve nailed the others,
But you always got away;
What it is that keeps you just that step ahead,
No one can say.
In one last raid the agents
Of the dawn break down the door
Of a house where you were standing
Maybe just an hour before.
And still the thread continues to unwind.
You take the hidden roads that only you can find;
And should they come upon your tracks,
Theres just a question hanging back you left behind:
(chorus)
"What do you want from me?"
"What do you need from me?"
This one is very specialized: it'll only work if he's trying to get away from people who're hunting him, whether as an individual or as a member of a category ("muties," labor agitators, Resistance, whatever). For the duration of the song (four minutes six seconds on the copy I've got), he's unnoticeable, able to slip through the tightest, toughest cordons. Checkpoint guards will forget to demand that he show his papers. No one will recognize his face, even if they've got a 1st-class photo of him in their hands or know him personally. Scent-trackers can't pick him up; neither can telepaths or clairvoyants or mages.
Downside: he won't want to use this if he's got friends/allies within the area of effect; the line "one by one they've nailed the others" guarantees that they'll be caught.
This only works to get away. He can't use it to get into a place unless it's part of escaping, as in sneaking into an airport to catch the next plane out of Dodge.
Oh, and no matter how well he knows it works, he'll always feel as if it's going to fail, and he expects a heavy hand to clamp down on his shoulder any second now. "And just where d'you think you're going?"
Enjoy!
-----
Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
Al Stewart & Peter White, performed by Al Stewart
Before the phone hits the receiver,
Youre halfway to the door.
The voice said Get out while you can,
Theres just ten minutes, nothing more.
Time only for the essentials
Better gather them and run:
The false name inside the passport,
The gold bars and the gun.
And once again theyve come out of the past,
And though your mind is cool, your heart is beating fast.
Youve been through it all before;
Each time you wish a little more that you could ask,
(chorus) "What do you want from me?
What do you need from me?
Theres no rest for the running man.
Why cant you let him be?"
Its a long and twisting journey
From the sweeping northern plains
To the outcrops of the jungle,
Bowed beneath the tropic rains.
In the customs hall the officer
Takes you to one side,
And his eyes reveal no feeling
As you hand over the bribe.
And once again youve bought a little time,
And once again youre fading out of sight,
Still the fox is growing older
As he calls over his shoulder to the night:
(chorus)
Here, come over here;
Beneath a sympathetic moon
Well sit and talk over old times without a fear.
Another beer? From the cafes of the night
The tumbling rhythms of guitars ring loud and clear.
(instrumental)
One by one theyve nailed the others,
But you always got away;
What it is that keeps you just that step ahead,
No one can say.
In one last raid the agents
Of the dawn break down the door
Of a house where you were standing
Maybe just an hour before.
And still the thread continues to unwind.
You take the hidden roads that only you can find;
And should they come upon your tracks,
Theres just a question hanging back you left behind:
(chorus)
"What do you want from me?"
"What do you need from me?"
This one is very specialized: it'll only work if he's trying to get away from people who're hunting him, whether as an individual or as a member of a category ("muties," labor agitators, Resistance, whatever). For the duration of the song (four minutes six seconds on the copy I've got), he's unnoticeable, able to slip through the tightest, toughest cordons. Checkpoint guards will forget to demand that he show his papers. No one will recognize his face, even if they've got a 1st-class photo of him in their hands or know him personally. Scent-trackers can't pick him up; neither can telepaths or clairvoyants or mages.
Downside: he won't want to use this if he's got friends/allies within the area of effect; the line "one by one they've nailed the others" guarantees that they'll be caught.
This only works to get away. He can't use it to get into a place unless it's part of escaping, as in sneaking into an airport to catch the next plane out of Dodge.
Oh, and no matter how well he knows it works, he'll always feel as if it's going to fail, and he expects a heavy hand to clamp down on his shoulder any second now. "And just where d'you think you're going?"
Enjoy!
-----
Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
