#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE--------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the#
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research.#
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Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 16:26:49 -0600
From: BRIAN SCHUSTER
Subject: TAB: Running On Empty by Jackson Browne
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Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
Updated/Improved from previous postings
by Brian Schuster, bschuste@IBM.net
March 1998
INTRO)
|D |D A |D |D A |D |D A |F#m |F#m |
|D |A/C# |E | |
(I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on)
VERSE 1)
D D-A D D-A
Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
D D A D D-A
Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields
D D-A D D-A
In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up 101
D A/C# E
I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on
CHORUS)
D/A A
(Running on) Running on empty
D/A A
(Running on) Running blind
D/A A F#m
(Running on) Running into the sun, but running behind.
VERSE 2)
Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on.
CHORUS 1x
INTRO (with slide guitar)
BRIDGE)
F#m D E A
Everyone I know, everywhere I go
F#m E D
People need some reason to believe
A
I don't know about anyone but me
F#m D E A
If it takes all night, that'll be all right
D E D C#m Bm A F#m E
If I can get you to smile before I leave
VERSE 3)
Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too
CHORUS 1x
VERSE 4)
D D A D D A
Honey you really tempt me, You know the way you look so kind
D E D C#m Bm A F#m E
I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind
D E D C#m Bm A F#m E
You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find
D A/C# D C#m Bm A
Running into the sun but I'm running behind.
ENDING
|D |D-A | pattern 12 times (with slide guitar solo)
|D |E |D C#m Bm |A
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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No Picture
Shredmaster Average |
#1 by Shredmaster Will at Sep 27, 2007 at 8:06 AM EST |
| Great comments! You are dead on- this song is a classic. | |
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Joshua Wanna Be |
#2 by Joshua Osprey at Sep 27, 2007 at 12:53 PM EST |
| That is a very good analysis of the song up top. And like opinionhead siad, it fits absolutely perfect in Forrest Gump. I watch that movie all the time and when it comes to this song, with pictures of summer fields and mountain lakes, I lose it. Amazing! 1 | |
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anthony Wanna Be |
#3 by anthony danby at Sep 28, 2007 at 7:37 AM EST |
| Good job, thats right on | |
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jon Wanna Be |
#4 by jon a at Sep 28, 2007 at 10:04 PM EST |
| This is from the perspective of an entertainer, a rock star. Starting early in life with no plan and only a dream, he's followed that dream and now he's not so sure that there'll be anything left for him when it ends. When he says, "If it takes all night, that'll be all right/If I can get you to smile before I leave," he's speaking to his audience. He still loves the life on the road, in fact he calls the road his own, he just doesn't have any control or foreknowlege of where it's all heading. He's getting older, remembering all the relationships that could've been, and he's realizing the futility of chasing a dream of youth("running into the sun","running blind") when everyone around him seems to be moving past that ("running behind"). Very touching, sung with lots of emotion, definitely a song that was written by Jackson Browne for Jackson Browne, and as such its honesty and intensity shines through. | |
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Ben Average |
#5 by Ben Swayn at Sep 28, 2007 at 11:57 PM EST |
| When I'm stressed out, this song always comes to my mind. Like a car with an empty gas tank, barely making it. | |
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esuvee ® Lead Player |
#6 by esuvee ® at Sep 30, 2007 at 12:19 PM EST |
| I like this song as well...I remember first hearing it when I saw Forrest Gump. He was so stunned by Jenny's leaving him that he ran on and on. Eventually, he literally stopped running after three years. I get the symbolism now, I wish I knew that back when I saw it. | |
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systray` Average |
#7 by systray` at Sep 30, 2007 at 12:27 PM EST |
| damn that first analysis is pretty good. but definitely one of those songs that you can listen to when you're not feeling great. the song rocks right there on the edge of inspiring. | |
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