Runaway Lyrics
You been puttin' up wit' my shit just way too long
I'm so gifted at findin' what I don't like the most
So I think it's time for us to have a toast
Let's have a toast for the assholes,
Let's have a toast for the scumbags,
Every one of them that I know
Let's have a toast for the jerk offs
That'll never take work off
Baby, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can
I sent this bitch a picture of my dick
I don't know what it is with females
But I'm not too good at that shit
See, I could have me a good girl
And still be addicted to them hood rats
And I just blame everything on you
At least you know that's what I'm good at
Yeah I always find
Yeah I always find somethin' wrong
You been puttin' up wit' my shit just way too long
I'm so gifted at findin' what I don't like the most
So I think it's time for us to have a toast
Let's have a toast for the assholes,
Let's have a toast for the scumbags,
Every one of them that I know
Let's have a toast for the jerk offs
That'll never take work off
Baby, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can
Runaway
Runaway from me baby
Runaway
Crazy, just crazy
Runaway as fast as you can
Runaway from me baby
Runaway
Runaway from me baby
Runaway
Crazy
Why cant she just runaway
Baby I got a plan
Run away fast as you can
Pussy stays on my mind
I-I-I-I did it,
All right, all right, I admit it
Now pick your next move,
You could leave or live wit' it
Ichabod Crane with that mothafuckin' top off
Split and go where?
Back to wearin' knockoffs, ha ha
Knock it off, Neiman's, shop it off
Let's talk over mai tais, waitress, top it off
Hoes like vultures wanna fly in your Freddy loafers
You can't blame 'em they ain't never seen Versace sofas
Every bag, every blouse, every bracelet
Comes with a price tag, baby face it
You should leave if you can't accept the basics
Plenty hoes in the baller-nigga matrix
Invisibly set, the Rolex is faceless
I'm just young, rich, and tasteless
P!
I could never take the intimacy
And I know it did damage
'Cause the look in your eyes is killin' me
I guessin' you're at an advantage
'Cause you could blame me for everything
And I don't know where I'ma manage
If one day you just up and leave
You been puttin' up wit' my shit just way too long
I'm so gifted at findin' what I don't like the most
So I think it's time for us to have a toast
Let's have a toast for the assholes,
Let's have a toast for the scumbags,
Every one of them that I know
Let's have a toast for the jerk offs
That'll never take work off
Baby, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can
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You're missing the final verse Kanye sings, at least in the version I have. In it, he sings this verse before the final repeat of the hook:
"Never was much of a romantic/I could never take the intimacy/And I know it did damage/'Cause the look in your eyes is killin' me/I guess that you had an advantage/'Cause you could blame me for everything/And I don't know how I'm-a manage/If one day you just up and leave".
To me, this may be the most important verse, because it gives us a final, slightly deeper glimpse at the fear and regret behind his ambivalence and inability to fully commit, even to a woman he truly loves--there are simply too many temptations, his old habits are too ingrained, and his partner has made it too easy for him to buy into his own excuses. He doesn't understand why she won't give into his attempts to drive her away--"I'm about to get crazy/why can't she just run away?", even as he admits that it will break him when she finally does give up and leave.
That said, I think this song isn't about someone who doesn't love the woman he's with, but about a guy that admits that he doesn't really know how to love anyone, including himself--hence the back and forth between lines that play up his secret pockets of self-loathing and lines that brag about his money and its ability to pull in women. He admits that his woman is a "good girl", but he's still addicted to the "hood rats" even though he knows their attraction to him is almost certainly totally shallow and all about what he could provide for them if they took her place. To me there's a lingering sadness in this song about the loneliness of that fact--he can't really connect, so he drowns himself in money and stray p***y, and feels helpless to change that fact. I absolutely love Kanye, but was shocked that he wrote a song that revealed so much vulnerability; I feel like he's really grown as an artist on this album.
carpeomniachica- what a great post, thank you!
carpeomniachica- what a great post, thank you!
This interpretation makes the most sense to me. Very well-written. Thanks for not just connecting the two closest dots together and calling it meaning.
This interpretation makes the most sense to me. Very well-written. Thanks for not just connecting the two closest dots together and calling it meaning.
I'm really feeling your take on this. It is very interesting song for psychological observation. As in, why does Kanye feel compelled to be this way? Is it just the way he is and he can't change it? Is he able to change his feelings and behavior as an individual? Or is he stuck this way or just prefers to stay this way? It's a fascinating look inside his psyche.
I'm really feeling your take on this. It is very interesting song for psychological observation. As in, why does Kanye feel compelled to be this way? Is it just the way he is and he can't change it? Is he able to change his feelings and behavior as an individual? Or is he stuck this way or just prefers to stay this way? It's a fascinating look inside his psyche.
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I love this song. It is very haunting. This song takes you into the mind of the jerk. Describing hte mindset of that guy who treats you poorly. Its a confession that he is a bad guy and all those other terms and it is brutally honest, not very apologetic, just describing the situation as it is. And it gives the best advice for those of us dealing with people like that, RUNAWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN...
"you've been putting up with my shit for way too long"
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I think this one of the best songs ever made. The minimalism in the music in some parts that just comes together with the other instruments later... my god this is beautiful. Kanye reveals something deep within himself about how he can't form relationships and I think he doesn't just mean romantically either. He just has trouble relating to other people.
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I think so many people are connecting to a song that seems so deliberately specific because Kanye West is just blatantly telling everyone that he doesn't know how to truly connect with anyone on any level, is always criticizing everything including himself and simply just does not know how to be completely happy with another person or with himself in relationship to his own standards.
The reason people connect with that, is because so many people feel exactly, the same fucking way. "Have a toast to the douchebags" -- Kanye is considered a douchebag. So is everyone who has felt the way he has. It's time for a toast because there isn't anything else left to do -- a final admittance to the fact that we are all, intrinsically, terribly shallow people no matter where we come from. We can improve upon this, but essentially we've been born to disconnect. We're born to satisfy ourselves, or at least what we see as ourselves for the time being. Then, when we realize that we can't even do that, what else is there left to do but drink, smoke and fuck? Have a toast for the people who at least aware of the fact that these feelings exist, that we can't change and that everything is simply fucked.
And the admittance of all this is the first on a stage to genuine correction. Some people say artists are "pansy" for thinking about all this garbage, but they are at least acknowledging it. Baby I've got a plan, run away as fast as you can -- it is the simplest way to say "I'm a terrible person". An insanely humbling song that connects to a very deep place within us all.
very awesomely broken down
very awesomely broken down
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this song speaks to me unlike most kanye songs. i dont know for me its like you always want to do better even when you are doing great in the first place. not a perfectionist but always finding something wrong. you cant help that someone falls in love with you and you are not in love with them. a little selfish but more complex... it's painful, dark, but courageous, brutally honest.
anyways he's talking about something that is hard to convey in words and thats how i relate to it.
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Additionally, I've never felt this way about a song before. Hard to explain; in short, I adore it.
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Runaway has become one of my favorite Yeezy songs. From the moment the track begins, the deep instrumental tones with the piano and cello strings set the mood for what is a very telling, and emotional song. There really aren’t many words to read into when trying to understand this song; the lyrics say it all.
For me, this song speaks to any woman who finds themselves in a relationship with a man who does the same bullshit over and over again yet can’t seem to walk away from it all. A man who, ultimately does no good, and is equally no good for her well being. Kanye hits a nail on this track. He lets us into the deepest and most sacred part of him….his true nature! I think the track highlights the true issue that Kanye faces--The fact that he knows how to love; yet he always resorts to the material things that empower his ego. The verse “the look in your eyes is killing me…” shows a man who is capable of feeling and very well understands that what he does causes his partner grief. He is thus broken into pieces by her hurt, knowing she can up and leave him any day. The main problem is the battle against himself---that he is not capable of walking away from the material things that make him feel more like a man–so he suggests that she just runs away because the only thing he’s good at is placing blame and never acknowledging his own faults.
The lyrics tells us that he’s well aware of his “asshole” like ways---but what gives the song even more meaning is Pusha T’s verse that ultimately ties everything all in. Pusha describes a typical scenario where he hesitantly admits to his guilt of cheating and gives his chick the ultimate decision–“You can leave or live with it; split and go where; back to wearing knockoffs? Haha, knock it off”. He blatantly says that the lifestyle of being with a rich and famous nigga comes with a price tag that she needs to either accept it or run back to the basics. This track is an absolutely well collaborated piece that shows us both how talented Kanye is, but how troubled he is by himself.
Good :)
Good :)
@Diamond144 you nailed it
@Diamond144 you nailed it
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^^^^ I totally agree with you. Despite all of the people that hate Kanye and his music, along with some of his crazy antics, I really love his music and feel that he's a one of a kind artist. That being said, I really love this song, it's a much different style to Kanye. This song is very humbling. He just cannot be content with "true" love, without living with some sort of temptation. For some reason, this song takes me back to "Flashing Lights".
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I knew he was coming back from his mistakes the minute the hook hit. Love or hate him the man will go down as one of the greatest ARTISTS in music history. The greatest artists were only good at one thing...creating art. MJ had his issues with body dysmorphic disorder, Beethoven used his Bipolar Disorder to fuel his creativity, Michelangelo had Asperger's. Kanye West is a brilliant musician who has problems understanding humanity.
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I think people need to calm down a bit, why so angry? Is your life that crappy that you get angry over someone who has made a few public deuchbag acts.....when we all know we have had our own moments...personally I never thought kanye could redeem himself after all the bs, but this song literally changed that for me, just goes to show that everyone can make a change for themselves....admitting it takes alot, especially from someone who has been so consumed by ego....i thought this song and the lyrics were genuine, so fuck what killviacom says, or any other hater, you need to get a life if you seriously get so butt hurt over a song...