“Keep On Runnin'” by Journey

The lyrics of Journey’s “Keep On Runnin'” are premised on the concept of the weekend being the only time in which the vocalist can really let loose and enjoy himself. And it is along those lines that the title comes into play, being poetically symbolic of his related desire, most simply put, for the weekend to never cease. 

But to reiterate, the main reason he thinks this way isn’t because he comes off like a party animal or anything like that. Instead said sentiment is actually based on a strong disdain for his normal life, shall we say 9 to 5 life.

And it is that reality which the first two verses center on, i.e. the fact that the vocalist is stuck in what appears to be a dead-end, oppressive, demeaning blue-collar job. So it is during the weekend that he is able to forget that aspect of his existence, so to speak. And what is also notable about the week’s end is that being the time he is afforded the opportunity to chill with his lady.

And all logic considered, at the end of the day when Steve Perry advises the listener to “keep on running” and “keep on hiding”, he and the rest of the Journey crew aren’t talking about literally bouncing from your job. Rather it can be concluded that the thesis sentiment of this song is that being stuck in the rat race, if you will, truly and genuinely sucks for people like the narrator. And the reason he wants to run away is likely because he is dealing with the dynamic of two days of happiness per week as compared to five days of misery.

Journey and “Keep on Runnin'”

Journey is a band from San Francisco that was by far one of the most-successful musical acts of 1980s’ America, especially during the first half of that decade. And this track is from their most-celebrated album, “Escape”, a project that Columbia Records released on 31 July 1981 and which achieved the elusive RIAA-diamond status some 40 years later, in 2021.

“Keep on Runnin'” is the fourth track on the playlist of the 10 song standard edition of “Escape”, and it was not one of the five singles issued from that project.

The following Journey members composed “Keep on Runnin'”:

• Neal Schon
• Jonathan Cain
• Steve Perry 

As of this writing Schon and Cain are still down with the group, with Perry, who actually sings “Keep on Runnin’, leaving the band in the late 1990s, being replaced by Steve Augeri and eventually lead singer Arnel Pineda, who is holding down said spot as of the writing of this post.

This song was produced by the late Mike Stone (1951-2002), who worked with some of the greatest bands in music history, alongside one Kevin Elson.