"Against the wind," he sang. "We were runnin' against the wind. We were young and strong, we were runnin' against the wind."
When Bob Seger wrote that song back in 1980, he probably had just finished a long and sweaty five miles while out on tour with the Silver Bullet Band.
Or not.
Since Bob Seger and I aren't exactly BFFs, I have no clue what he wrote that song about. However, if a race director jams that tune over the loudspeaker while I'm pre-gaming in the start corral, count me inspired. Bob could've been using "running" metaphorically, and really could've been talking about doing drugs or going poop, but damn if I won't be fist-pumping and psyching myself up to it as if he'd wrote it about his first marathon or something.
Hence the reason I adore music so much. I can throw away any intent that the songwriter had and abuse the lyrics to my own advantages. Here are 10 other great lyrics tht may or may not be about running. Dare you not to be RUNspired! (You can owe me a slap in the face for this cheesy wordplay.)
10) "This Is War" - 30 Second to Mars (a.k.a, my secret lovecrush, Jared Leto, and some other dudes)
"It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie
The moment to live and the moment to die
The moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight"
9) "My Hero" - Foo Fighters
"Don't the best of them bleed it out
while the rest of them peter out"
8) "Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service
"They will see us waving from such great heights
come down now, they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
come down now, but we'll stay"
7) "Be Somebody" - Kings of Leon
"Given a chance, I'm gonna be somebody
If for one dance, I'm gonna be somebody
Open the door, it's gonna make you love me
Facing the floor, I'm gonna be somebody"
6) "Shake It Out" - Florence + the Machine
"It's hard to dance with a devil on your back
so shake him off"
5) "The Distance" - CAKE
"Because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course
He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse
He's going the distance"
4) "Unstoppable" - Foxy Shazam
"Crawling through the dirt
You hurt, I prance
Sticks and stones may hurt
But we don't care
'Cause we won't back down this time...
We are unstoppable
No, we can't be defeated"
3) "Born to Run" - The Boss
"Tramps like us
baby, we were born to run"
2) "Kids" - MGMT
"Control yourself
take only what you need from it"
1) "All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers
"When there's nowhere else to run
is there room for one more son
One more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on...
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier"
Fill in the blank: My favorite runspirational song lyric or quote is: ____________________________!