Runnin' Down a Dream
| "Runnin' Down a Dream" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tom Petty | ||||
| from the album Full Moon Fever | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | July 29, 1989 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Runnin' Down a Dream" is a song co-written and recorded by
Album Rock Tracks chart.[3] It has since garnered significant airplay on classic rock stations, and lent its name to the 2007 documentary
on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Lyrics and music
The song was co-written by Mike Campbell, along with Petty and Jeff Lynne. It was a nod to Petty's musical roots, with the lyric "me and Del were singin' 'Little Runaway'" making reference to Del Shannon and "Runaway".
The song uses
fuzz guitar riff, using the notes B, B♭, A, G, and E, lacks only a D to complete the hexatonic E blues scale.[4]
Music video
The
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, featuring a drawing style reminiscent of McCay's and showing Petty and a character who resembles Flip travelling through Slumberland. The 1933 film King Kong is also briefly referenced when Petty, atop the Chrysler Building
, attempts to swat at attacking oversized mosquitoes, much like Kong swatting at the biplanes in the film.
Charts
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart[5] | 68 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 23 |
| UK Singles Chart | 55 |
| US Billboard Album Rock Tracks | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 23 |
In popular culture
It was the official theme song of the
"Arlen City Bomber", Lucky Kleinschmidt (voiced by Tom Petty) says "I'm gonna help you run down that dream, Bobby" of getting Bobby a freshly made corn chip off the production line. The song was used in the Family Guy episode "The Book of Joe
" when Brian achieves his "runner's high".
In 2017 after Petty's death, NBC used the song for the promo for its telecast of the
Homestead-Miami Speedway. NBC began using a version of this song as their theme for NASCAR on NBC in the summer of 2018, replacing "Bringing Back the Sunshine" by Blake Shelton. This song is covered by ZZ Ward.[10]
The song was also featured on the opening montage of ON Video Skateboarding Issue #1 Summer 2000.
References
- ISBN 978-1-4408-6579-4.
- ^ Runnin' Down a Dream on AllMusic ..."Musically, the song is led by a powerful, garage rock riff from co-writer Mike Campbell"...
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 490.
- ^ Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever (songbook) C.P.P. Belwin, Inc.; First Edition (1989) ASIN B0013GBQB2
- ^ "25 Years Ago This Week: September 10, 1989". chartbeat.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ^ "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". IMDb.com. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ Darcangelo, Vince (June 22, 2006). "B-ball blues". Boulder Weekly. Archived from the original on November 10, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ a b Donahue, Ann (February 3, 2008). "Super Bowl XLII Halftime Recap". Adweek. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ "iTunes Store". iTunes. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ Hembree, Mike (June 25, 2018). "ZZ Ward helps NBC kick off its NASCAR coverage with a Tom Petty pitch". USA Today. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
