The Great Escape

Album: Boys Like Girls (2006)
Charted: 72 23
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about getting away from authority, and most likely relates to high school. It's about forgetting all the adults, leaving your cares behind and having fun. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Amber - mocksville, NC
  • The phrase "The Great Escape" was popularized in a move that is based on the true story of a group of Allied prisoners of war who managed to escape from a Nazi prison camp during World War II. The movie starred Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson and James Garner. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Naomi - Mobile, AL
  • Frontman Martin Johnson revealed on his record label website how the tracks on the Boys Like Girls album are connected. He said: "You can hear a little story within the track listing. It starts off with this song that's about moving on and getting out of town, 'The Great Escape,' and goes through to 'Holiday' which is about asking who I am and starting over. It's basically a couple of years in my life."
  • In an interview with FasterLouder, the band's drummer John O'Keefe commented on the symmetry of the record: "The drums come around to the last song which is almost ironic and weird. The vocals that are in the last song are in the first song as well, which wasn't planned while we were recording this album so it just sort of happened."
  • Singer/guitarist Martin Johnson explained: "This song is about leaving the town I grew up in with my best friends at my side. A graduation-type song with a "we're up to no good, f--k this town, let's do it up for one more night" twist. I wrote it as a last horrah to high school, growing up, and in a sense... the last night of being a kid. It's the end of one chapter with an outlook on the future, sort of like a prequel to the rest of the record."

Comments: 16

  • Alexandra from Lake StevensI love the tone of this song.
  • Kiara from Portage,wiI think the song is about escaping the world because the song talks about people judges them. They are just trying to get away from it all. But on the other hand it also sounds like it can be about breaking a drug addiction like Allie said. The video doesn't have drugs in it, but the song could be about drugs. Maybe the band didn't want to have drugs in their video.
  • Hannah from Gustavus, OhI think this song is about graduating...it'd make a good class song.
  • Brandon from Pittsburgh, Pai dont think that allie is necessarily wrong in thinking that it is about breaking a drug addiction because that is sort of a subliminal message in the song but watch the music video its about getting out and running away for the night....they band is in van on a the way to a concert and are just kind of chilling not a care and then there are some teenage girls on their way to watch the concert who are just having the time of their life getting away from the stress of school and home.....excellent song
  • Brandon from Pittsburgh, Pai dont think that allie is necessarily wrong in thinking that it is about breaking a drug addiction because that is sort of a subliminal message in the song but watch the music video its about getting out and running away for the night....they band is in van on a the way to a concert and are just kind of chilling not a care and then there are some teenage girls on their way to watch the concert who are just having the time of their life getting away from the stress of school and home.....excellent song
  • Noe from Ontario, Cai think allie is wrong becuz although it does make references to drugs it is really about a teenage life style in which a teenager doesnt care about their responsibilities and just run away from them all and not give a damn
  • Kitty from Montreal, QcI totally agree with you, Allie! It's really about drugs when I really thought about it! Thanks for making me understand the song.
  • Allie from Little Rock , Aru guys so dont get the actual meaning of the song!!it is totally and completely about drugs!! in the beginning its about doing drugs"Paper bags and plastic hearts
    All are belongings in shopping carts It's goodbye
    But we got one more night Let's get drunk and ride around And make peace with an empty town
    We can make it right"get it?they are doing drugs for the last time and they want to make the best of it!! so then they say the chorus(chorus)"throw IT away(throw the drugs away)..forget yesterday(the beginning when they do the drugs)...and we'll make the great escape(breaking their addiction to drugs)..we wont hear a word they say..they dont know us anyway(the people pressuring them to do the drugs)...watch it burn(burning the drugs to get rid of them)..watch it die(watching the drugs burn away)..caz we are finally free tonight(they are breaking their addictoin for good")(end of chorus)now...if you move on to the next part, it talks about the struggle to break the addiction! "Tonight will change our lives(stopping them doing drugs)...its so good to be by your side(they're breaking the adddiction together)...and we'll cry(its hard to stop doing drugs)..but we wont give up the fight(no matter how hard it is,they are going to stop doing drugs)..We'll scream loud at the top of our lungs...And they'll think it's just cause we're young(it will be difficult to do and people won't understand what they are going through..And we'll feel so alive(they'll feel good about themselves for breaking the addiction)"then the chorus is repeated(see above)and then we go into the last verse, which is about realizing that they have wasted a huge part of their lives on drugs and how they are glad that they've overcome them.."All of the wasted time...The hours that were left behind(see, they realize they have wasted so much time on drugs)...The answers that we'll never find(the things they have missed and will never understand if they dont stop drugs)..They don't mean a thing tonight(the end of their drug usage)" the song then repeats the chorus!! so its totally not about what u think!!but it is a really good song if u take the time to understand it!!:)

  • Emmi from Abington, Mathis reminds me of my ex from summer because we would always listen to this every single dayy but i still love it <3!
  • Alyssa from Pemberville, OhThis song just makes me wanna go on a road trip or just run away haha good CD too.
  • Hayley from Taupo, New Zealandman this song makes me wanna get in my car a drive and just trash stuff lol!

    ROAD TRIP SONG!!!

    love it
  • Sabrina from Orlando, Fli agree with everyone else
    i get so excited when i hear this song!!
    i love it
  • Shelby from Long Island, Nyhaha this song makes me hyper, and it makes me just wanna run away and gather up all the people that I'd never leave behind
  • Morgan from Gresham, Orya this song makes me feel like running away and just driving for hours with friends. even though i dont have any friends anymore.
  • Ashley from Copperas Cove, Txthis so is about letting go!!! getting away from all the stress and just hanging out!!! we all get wrapped up in our own lifes and sometimes we just need to take a break and get away from reality!! and that is exactly what happens in the song.
  • Shelby from Long Island, NyThis song make me get an adrenaline rush, and all I wanna do is gather up my friends and run away from home and live like we have no care in the world.
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