Song Analysis - Runaway Love by Ludacris

You have a home, but they don’t. You live in peace, but they don’t. You have a family, but they don’t. They are the people who endure the bitterness of society; war, poverty and discrimination. Then there are the children wedged in the difficulties of life, their dreams torn apart by the hands of selfish monsters. The monster that is tearing apart lives is what we call child abuse. This is our world. And it’s your choice if you want to change it. You see, child abuse is an increasing epidemic that is spreading faster than wildfire. Though there are many solutions, none is more empowering and influential than song. We are a band and this is what we are good at. We can give our contribution to the world even if it is as small as saving a tear from a child that shouldn’t be shed.
“Runaway Love” by Ludacris has managed to get that message out. It tells the different lives of 3 troubled adolescent girls; Lisa, Nicole and Erica, each enduring their own way of abuse. This song engages everyone, it supports the abused, it tells them that they aren’t alone and that there is help waiting for them.
The lyrics aren’t just narrating the lives of Lisa, Nicole and Erica; it is narrating what millions of children are going through. This song portrays real life situations and I can guarantee you that every word in verse 1, 2 and 3 are completely true from the part where Lisa gets sexually abused to where Nicole is harassed by her step father. The song demonstrates the various types of abuse and pain each girl is going through, from the lines
“Yells and abuses, leaves her with some bruises” to
“Trying to have his way and little Lisa says ouch.”
But the song doesn’t end at physical abuse; it defines the emotional side, the part where many miss out thus the lines
“Trying to figure out why the world is so cold” and
“Forced to think that hell is a place called home.”
We are forgetting how neglected children really feel and this song boldly outlines their perspective of