From the recording "Run Where You Will" from the album "These Wheels"
Lyrics
I see a storm brewing honey in these marble grey skies
I can see the cloud burst coming when I look in your eyes
Tonight it’s gonna rain down and the four winds will blow
Right now I need an answer tell me yes, or tell no.
I think of everything I have, everything I’ve got
Till I have you, I’ll never stop
Run Where You Will
I’ll follow you wherever
Through the dark valley, through the black hills
I’ll follow you forever.
Run Where You Will
Well the night is growing darker, lots of places you can hide
But you can’t escape the shadows that haunt you deep inside
Is it true love you fear or the lightning in the sky
Don’t you try to hide in thunder, I want you to tell me why
Out of everything I have, everything I’ve got
Till I have you, I’ll never stop
Run Where You Will
I’ll follow you wherever
Through the dark valley, through the black hills
I’ll follow you forever.
Run Where You Will
Cross the misty streams, I will follow.
Through the bad dreams, I will follow.
After all and everything, I will follow.
Run Where You Will
I’ll follow you wherever
Through the dark valley, through the black hills
I’ll follow you forever.
Run Where You Will
I will follow…
I will follow…
Lyrics
The Story
"Most songs, I can recall exactly where I was when I wrote it. The physical place or the emotional state. But, with this one, ‘Run Where You Will,’ I do not recall writing it. It’s like it was just there one day.
I remember seeing a big production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Nights Dream.” It was an outdoor production set up amidst a renaissance fair in Albuquerque. Halfway through the show, the skies became overcast, and the rain clouds provided the perfect lighting for the when show starts to get trippy. It’s supposed to be one of Bill’s more lighthearted comedies, but there was something kind of ominous. It was like Oberon was bringing down the thunder.
One of the characters had a line along the lines of “run whilst thou can.” Or something like that. For the longest time, I thought she had said “run where you will, I will follow you.” It was one of those moments where I mentally wrote it down and figured it would be a great line for a song. It had the added bonus of being a Shakespearean literary reference. Not only would it make for a great song title, but then the literati out there listening would hear it and say to themselves, “by Jove, this scrappy young songwriter is steeped in poetry and literature. We shall buy his record.”
Except, I got the line wrong. So much for elitist record sales.
On more than one occasion I busted out this song to swoon a young maiden. And, sadly, on more than one occasion I was told that the song makes me sound like a stalker.
I never meant it that way. I’ve always saw “Run” as being about the romantic pursuit of a heart jaded by love. Maybe that’s why so much of my twenties were spent lonely and single. I must have been creeping everybody out.
If only I’d have gotten the Shakespeare line right, there wouldn’t have as much misinterpretation."-Jason Riggs 2006