If I Run

Album: Slow Me Down (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Evans wrote this ballad with Karyn Rochelle and Shane Stevens. Of the three Slow Me Down cuts penned by the singer, this is the most personal. "It's about this girl saying, 'I totally love you and I want this relationship, but I'm scared. I'm just letting you know that I have not been loved well in my life," she explained to Taste of Country. "So if I run, or if I get scared, will you chase me? Will you be the one that wants to save me?'"

    "When we were writing … we were just talking about that fact that (when) little girls lose that relationship with their dad and they don't have a strong relationship with their dad throughout their teenage years and throughout their whole life, then they have this skewed sense of what love is," she continued. "And so they don't recognize love in the way that most girls do who have a strong father force in their life."

    "Girls want to be pursued," Evans added. "So this song, is about being pursued and, you know, wanting that man to chase her and pursue her and let her know 'I would never let you walk away.'"
  • Sara Evans' husband, radio show host Jay Barker, calls this the "prodigal son song."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.