Is ‘Runaway’ by The Corrs the Greatest Song of All Time? Maybe…

Say it’s true, there’s nothing like me and you. I’m not alone, tell me you feel it too.

Can you feel that stirring in your heart? Is your temperature rising? Are you filled up with love and emotion? Are you ready to hit the ground running and head off into the sunset? That’s exactly how I feel whenever I hear ‘Runaway’ by The Corrs. It’s sweet, it’s sincere and it’s simple. Love is often complicated but the act of falling in love is easy. Or, as Andrea sings it, falling in lo-o-o-o-ooooove is easy.

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‘Runaway’ was the very first single released by The Corrs in 1995. Although it only peaked at number 10 in the Irish charts (sacrilege!) it is The Corrs’ best song and I will fight anyone that argues otherwise. [Ed. note: ‘Only When I Sleep’ smokes it, tbh] At four minutes and 25 seconds long, it takes us on a journey. From hoping that your lover feels the same way about you to steadfastly declaring that you will give up everything and runaway with them. As gentle as it starts, ‘Runaway’ ends with Andrea singing as if she will give away the sun, the stars and the moon to be with her lover and we are right there with her. Whoever he – or she – may be, we believe that they too are worth it. We want to run, hand-in-hand with the pair of them and hop on a train, like in the video, are run with reckless abandon in a field because that’s all you need when you’re in lo-o-o-o-ooooove.

In this ditty, all worries are cast aside and all you need is each other. You don’t need jobs, a social life and you certainly don’t need to pay your bills, as Andrea insists that they make love through to the night only to the light cast by a candle. While the album version of ‘Runaway’ is solid gold, nothing compares to the live version of ‘Runaway’ featured on their MTV Unplugged album released in 1999, mainly because Jim’s awfully 90s electric guitar moment is nowhere to be found.

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I have a huge grá for Unplugged and will often convince a friend to watch the DVD after a bit of wine. The Corrs are famously a family band of three good looking sisters and 9/11 conspiracist brother Jim but on Unplugged, Andrea is the star.  Her voice is the voice we hear when the Children of Lír beat their swan wings, her voice is the siren song of Queen Medb and the soundtrack to Oisín and Niamh Chinn Óir’s romance.

There is a power behind ‘Runaway’. The first three seconds of violin are enough to stop a person in their tracks and give themselves over entirely. By osmosis, we all know the lyrics and understand the pining. On a drive to Dingle recently, this song came on a mixed CD that I had carefully crafted for the long, winding roads. Four people, whose musical tastes vary (to put it lightly) were united. By the time the last chorus came along, when all passions and desires are unfurled, voices were raised in harmony, hearts were warm and pulses were beating. The words “YES! YES! YES!” were on the tips of our tongues and when it all came to an end, the satisfaction was enough to last a lifetime. Like all great loves, one sup is never enough. It’s a song that needs to be revisited time and time again. It came to us 20 years ago and through hard work, passion and  respect, every time we listen to it, we are truly falling in lo-o-o-o-ooooove all over again.

Oh, and Joe Panama of Overhead, The Albatross did an ambient cover of the thing:

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#CorrCore, indeed.