"Run Away with Me" is a song by Canadian singer

Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...

. It was released as the second single from her third studio album ''

Emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

'' on July 17, 2015, by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. The song was written by Jepsen, Mattman & Robin (credited as Mattias Larsson and Robin Fredriksson), Jonnali Parmenius,

Oscar Holter Oscar Thomas Holter (born 26 February 1986) is a Swedish record producer and songwriter based in the United States. He is best known for his work with record producer and fellow Swede Max Martin and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd on the ...

, and Shellback. Produced by Mattman & Robin and Shellback, "Run Away with Me" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

tune with an upbeat production containing a distorted, reverbed saxophone

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

. "Run Away with Me" was accompanied by a DIY music video filmed by Jepsen's then-partner David Kalani Larkins in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and

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, which also premiered in July 2015. The song was only a minor success in the charts, but was met with widespread critical acclaim, being considered one of the best songs of 2015 and of the 2010s.

Music and production

"Run Away with Me" runs for four minutes and eleven seconds.

wrote the song with duo Mattman & Robin, who is credited separately as Mattias Larsson and Robin Fredriksson, Shellback, Jonnali Parmenius, and

. Production was handled by Shellback and Mattman & Robin, who also programmed it. "Run Away with Me" is a

and

track featuring a distorted, reverbed saxophone

. The upbeat production incorporates

percussive A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

synths,

pedal tones Pedal tones (or pedals) are special low notes in the harmonic series (music), harmonic series of brass instruments. A pedal tone has the pitch of its harmonic series' fundamental tone. Its name comes from the foot pedal keyboard pedals of a pip ...

, multi-tracked vocals and cavernous drums. Rachel Seo from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said the song has a "galloping beat and soaring

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

Critical reception

"Run Away with Me" received universal acclaim from music critics. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine referred to "Run Away with Me" as "the best

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song of 2015 yet", "an undeniable hit waiting in the wings for its moment", and a "big, bold, beautiful masterpiece". ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

'' magazine hailed the song as "just as much the pop perfection that is '

I Really Like You "I Really Like You" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen for her third studio album, ''Emotion'' (2015). It was written by Jepsen, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Peter Svensson, and Steve DaMar; and produced by Svensson. The song wa ...

'" and "the perfect anthemic summer jam". ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' welcomed "Run Away with Me" as "a marked improvement over I Really Like You'. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine wrote of the track, "'Run Away With Me' marries euphoric Swedish

with a pressing nostalgia for your teenage years, a time when the littlest crushes felt like time bombs and a time Jepsen is really, really, really skilled at evoking. In that sense, it’s ' Teenage Dream 2.0', right down to a bridge so catchy she has to repeat it twice". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked "Run Away with Me" at number 49 on their year-end list of the 50 best songs of 2015. ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' named "Run Away with Me" the 11th-best single released in 2015 on their annual year-end critics' poll,

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

. ''

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'' ranked it at number 36 on their 200 best songs of the decade list, saying that "fueled by a yearning saxophone riff and colossal drums, Jepsen gleefully repeats her heartfelt invitation until the rest of the world melts away. "Over the weekend, we could turn the world to gold," she murmurs with a quiet devotion, letting the image of two gilded lovers linger in the air." ''

''s Rachel Seo named it Jepsen's best song in October 2022, writing that its "galloping beat and soaring chorus is the stuff of every

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

swan song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...

for those whose '' bildungsromane'' were written, or re-written, during the

2010s File:2010s collage v22.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gad ...

], joining the array of tracks — like Lorde's 'Green Light (Lorde song), Green Light' or Taylor Swift's 'Style (Taylor Swift song), Style' — that have emerged as frontrunners of music written to express something profound about growing up and falling hard. 'Run Away With Me' feels the same played anywhere at any time of day: transcendent, timeless and completely given over to the feeling, with an intentional disregard of whether that feeling is love or its imitation."

Year-end lists

Decade-end lists

Commercial performance

"Run Away with Me" did not repeat the major commercial success of the previous single and only made a minor impact on the charts. It reached the top 30 in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Scotland, and briefly charted within the top 100 in the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia.

Music video

The "Run Away with Me"

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released on 17 July 2015 on Jepsen's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

channels. It was directed by her then-partner David Kalani Larkins and consists of

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

-style footage filmed on three different continents. Larkins accompanied Jepsen on tour, casually filming a personal footage of her, which later developed into creating a music video. The clip pictures the singer in the

Place de la République The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...

Place Charles de Gaulle The Place Charles de Gaulle (), historically known as the Place de l'Étoile (), is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence its historic name, which translates as "Square of the Star") includ ...

and on the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

, in

Shibuya Crossing , commonly known as Shibuya Crossing, is a popular pedestrian scramble crossing in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the enti ...

and a

karaoke bar A is a type of karaoke establishment commonly found in Asia, the United States and Canada. It originated in Japan, and is now popular worldwide, particularly in Asia. Karaoke boxes consist of multiple rooms containing karaoke equipment, usually ...

, and in

where she is seen running along the fountain in

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, ...

and pointing at the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

from a boat in

New York Bay New York Bay is the large tidal body of water in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary where the Hudson River, Raritan River, and Arthur Kill empty into the Atlantic Ocean between Sandy Hook, New Jersey, Sandy Hook and Rockaway Point. Geogr ...

. The clip also sees Jepsen in hotel rooms, airports and on public city transport. More footage was filmed in Dublin, London and Toronto, but it wasn't used in the final video.

Live performances

On 1 May 2015, Jepsen performed "Run Away with Me" during a show in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China. She then performed the song on '' The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon'' on 19 August 2015 and subsequently at ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'' on 21 August 2015, the release date of '' E•MO•TION'' in the United States. The track was performed as the opening song on Jepsen's 2015–2016 Gimmie Love Tour. In October 2015, Jepsen performed the song during season 11 of ''

Idols South Africa ''Idols'' was a television show on the South African television network Mzansi Magic, and previously on M-Net, based on the popular British show ''Pop Idol''. The show was a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa. The gener ...

'' at the

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the ar ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

Track listings

* Digital download (Remixes) # "Run Away with Me" ( ASTR Remix) – 5:33 # "Run Away with Me" ( Cyril Hahn Remix) – 4:52 # "Run Away with Me" ( Y2K Remix) – 4:28 # "Run Away with Me" ( Cardiknox Remix) – 4:21 # "Run Away with Me" ( Liam Keegan Remix) – 4:11 # "Run Away with Me" (Velvet Sunrise Remix) – 3:46 * Digital download (Remixes, Pt. 2) # "Run Away with Me" (

Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Rock music, rock band Fall Out Boy ...

Remix) – 4:10 # "Run Away with Me" ( Ayokay Remix) – 3:31 # "Run Away with Me" (EMBRZ Remix) – 4:39

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''Emotion'': *

– lead vocals, songwriting, background vocals * Mattman & Robin – production, programming, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, background vocals ** Mattias Larsson – songwriting ** Robin Fredriksson – songwriting * Shellback – songwriting, production * Jonnali Parmenius – songwriting, background vocals *

– songwriting, background vocals * Wojtek Goral – saxophone *

Sibel Redzep Sibel is a female Turkish given name that is Turkish spelling of Anatolian mother goddess, Cybele, symbol and protector of abundance. People Given name * Sibel Adalı, Turkish-American computer scientist * Sibel Altınkaya (born 1993), Turkish t ...

– background vocals * Ludvig Söderberg – background vocals * Jakob Jerlström – background vocals * Oscar Göress – background vocals *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing * John Hanes – engineer for mix * Tom Coyne – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

* This song was used in the tenth episode of the fourth season of ''

Mr. Robot ''Mr. Robot'' is an American drama thriller television series created by Sam Esmail for USA Network. It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and dissoci ...

'' entitled "410 Gone"; * Jepsen re-recorded the song in the fictional

Simlish Simlish is a constructed language devised by game designer Will Wright for the '' Sims'' game series developed by Electronic Arts. During the development of '' SimCopter'' (1996), Wright sought to avoid real-world languages, believing that pla ...

language for '' The Sims 4: Get Together''; * The song was used as a lip-sync song on the fifth episode of

season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to t ...

'' being performed by contestants Lady Boom Boom and Kimmy Couture. * The song appears in the eighth episode of the second season of '' Heartstopper''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs 604 Records singles Schoolboy Records singles Interscope Records singles Carly Rae Jepsen songs Song recordings produced by Mattman & Robin Song recordings produced by Shellback (record producer) Songs written by Carly Rae Jepsen Songs written by Mattias Larsson Songs written by Noonie Bao Songs written by Oscar Holter Songs written by Robin Fredriksson Songs written by Shellback (record producer)