I don't think its just about a single event either. it doesn't make it seem cool to shoot up your class. about what he is feeling and what he is thinking about doing. This is a song about the overwhelming pain of a young boy. This is not a song that glamorizes guns, violence or abusive behavior (as some do). 'your hair's on fire and you must have lost your wits, yeah'ДЇor those who think this song sets a bad example kids, i disagree. I love this, in all innocence he projects himself onto his burning cigarette He was supposed to take the frozen dinners out and he isn't going to. 'Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice' He be coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late In the 2nd verse he is back at home, looking at his cigarette, talking 'all other kids with the pumped up kicks' running from him now! This cool cowboy kid with his cigarette and his gun sees 'He'll (he will) look around the room, He won't tell you his plan' He is innocent, young, very deeply hurt and so angry! he holds the gun in his hand and finally feels powerful, he imagines being at school the next day.ДЎst verse is in 3rd person and future. he is sitting at home, smoking a cigarette, he has just found his dads old gun 'in a box of fun things And I don't even know what' I love these lyrics, so simple and direct. I like this song because it provides some food for thought and some food for groovin'!ДЄfter i read your comment i looked at the lyrics again. I think the dinner packed in ice is a very clever reference to revenge, a dish best served cold! Schizophrenia would cause someone to be paranoid and plot revenge against anyone for something real or imagined, it causes hallucinations and talking to oneself, and high school would be a typical time for it to first turn up. This kid could be mentally ill with no one taking the time to notice, could simply be a social outcast for one of the meaningless reasons kids torment each other. I don't think the cigarette is a joint in this day and age they would probably just come out and say so.Д¬ould be Robert's Dad abuses him, or just doesn't notice or care that his son is being victimized, so is just as bad.

Cowboys not only tote six-shooters, they roll their own cigarettes, whistle, and wear dusters (not mentioned in the song, but now inseperable from teenage outcasts).

This kid is definitely disturbed and plotting revenge, imagining himself as a cowboy, I think we all mostly agree. If you think i got it right let me know and if anyone can help me with that first verse a bit that would be nice the cigarette is probably acting as his concience he personifies it but also dismisses its opinion 'And say your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits' now reasoning with the cigarette is entertaining himself while he waits. on top of that i think it also means he has been waiting along time for the opportunity of revenge. dinner reference + 'ive been waiting a long time' suggests that he is at the dinnertable waiting for his dad to walk in. i think whats actually happening when dad's coming home late and bringing a surprise is he's coming home late drunk and beating him. Second verse: it says 'daddy works a long day' which i think has an ironic innocense in assuming hes working that whole time. by telling them to run (even if not literaly) he is playing with them and enjoying this, because you cant run faster than bullets. but the line 'and i dont even know what' any ideas? also the fact that hes called 'Robert', is that name significant?Д¬horus: pumped up kicks are probably like Nike airs and stuff, which probably means all the trendy popular kids, and hes going to shoot them. cowboys are also lone figures which is important. and the cowboy stuff means he's having fun with the idea of how cool it will be (probably to hae that power). General Commentits about a disturbed kid going on a killing spree (no shit).ДЎst verse: he is just about to start shooting, and is hanging around with a shifty look and a revolver and no one suspects a thing.

Lyrics to run boy run