Run for Your Life

John Lennon said that Run For Your Life was his least favorite Beatles song, though he added that George judged it as one of his favorites on the album. In this he was probably alone. The lyrics are angry, jealous and threatening -- a bit out of synch with the tone of the other songs on Rubber Soul. John returned to this theme in Jealous Guy (post-Beatles), with a somewhat softer touch. The line that caused a fuss ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man") is a quote from an Elvis song (Baby, Let's Play House). Musically, Run For Your Life has a simple structure (four sets of verse/refrain with a bridge in the middle), written in D major, but with more of a focal point in b minor. The oft-repeated guitar riff is bluesy, John's acoustic guitar is folksy, and the D to b minor sequence is old-fashioned rock, all of which makes it hard to put this song in any specific musical category.