MUSIC: "Runaway"

The jokes about country music as a genre are well known. Those ignorant to this class of musicianship often claim if its not about an old dog and a pick-up truck, than it's about bustin' Grandma out of jail and getting drunk on moonshine from a mason jar.

Truth be told, country music is ripe for lots of sometimes clichéd themes. There's the tragic heartbreak tune and the "I'm a rough-neck country boy/girl and ain't changing" declaration. And who doesn't love a good whiskey-soaked drinking song? A personal favorite of mine is the "getting-outta-dodge" sub-category.

I don't care what the reason is for wanting the change that causes the singer the unmistakable drive to hop in whatever semblance of four tires and an engine they have at their disposal and just go; leave nothing but a dust trail behind. Carolyn Dawn Johnson did it with "Georgia" and Trace Adkins' (also Julie Roberts') "Breakdown Here" covers the leaving because of a going-nowhere relationship road (no pun intended). "Ready To Run" and "Heads Carolina, Tails California" by the Dixie Chicks and JoDee Mesina, respectively embody the leaving for a change mentality while Dierks Bentley's "Every Mile A Memory" reminisces about days gone by on the freedom of the open road.*
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This list could go on and on. Most recently the debut single, "Runaway", from new group Love & Theft** can be inducted to this list. Written by the talented Canaan Smith, the song has it all - a flat tire, an awful boss and job, and a girlfriend that won't return calls. All the more reason to "pack my bags and never look, run a parallel line to the railroad tracks." The reference to the rear-view mirror is also critical, with it's great pedal-pushing melody, to stamping this song as an anthem for those dreaming of leaving it all behind!

Sergio del Limónar

*There are no doubt many older more classic songs that have clearly been neglected in this excruciatingly short list. My apologies to die-hard country fans that they did not immediately pop into my head while this was being written.

**Love & Theft, as a band have not been deemed ZONINO! When they stop acting like wannabe boyband frat-boys at their concerts and put a little effort into actually identifying with the genre they supposedly represent, they may be reconsidered. Recording "Runaway" was a very fortunate business decision, gentlemen.