De legende wil dat Roy Orbison en Joe Melson Running Scared in vijf minuten schreven. Producer Fred Foster was niet erg onder de indruk van de eerste takes en vroeg Orbison zich wat meer in te spannen: “He said “run it by one more time” and I did it in full voice. I didn’t even know I could do that at the time. I didn’t know there was a difference between full voice and falsetto. I could feel the difference, but I didn’t understand the technical differences. Then the power of the voice came, it was a gradual thing, and it came with confidence”.
Just runnin’ scared each place we go
So afraid that he might show
Yeah, runnin’ scared, what would I do?
If he came back and wanted you
Just runnin’ scared, feelin’ low
Runnin’ scared, you love him so
Just runnin’ scared, afraid to lose
If he came back which one would you choose
Then all at once he was standing there
So sure of himself, his head in the air
My heart was breaking, which one would it be
You turned around and walked away with me
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By Jac. de Nijs / Anefo – Nationaal Archief, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33391187
