Songs about two women on the run?
November 14, 2013 2:25 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking for songs about two women running away/hitting the road, preferably on the run from the law.

There are some great threads on the green recommending songs about a man and a woman running away or going on a crime spree—like this one for example. However, I'm looking for songs specifically about two women (involved either romantically or platonically) in the same kind of situation—hitting the open road, becoming outlaws, going on the lam, etc.

A couple notes:
1) Genre-wise, I really like Americana, folk rock, alt country, blues, etc. (the kind of music that's rec'd in the thread I linked above), so I'm looking for that kind of thing especially, though not exclusively. Melancholy and/or desperation is a plus!

2) I'd like to know if there are songs that take this subject as seriously as a song about a man and a woman would, so the more heartfelt and emotionally authentic the song is, the better. (So, like, less campy and sexified than Lady Gaga's "Telephone" video, for example; that's fun and all, but I'm more interested in songs that can tell a story about women on the run without that level of "Haha, dude, sexy lesbians!")

Do you have any suggestions?
posted by honey wheat to Media & Arts (15 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks.
posted by ActionPopulated at 2:31 PM on November 14, 2013 [9 favorites]


Best answer: Try Your Sweet and Shiny Eyes, originally sung by Bonnie Raitt. They're not running from the law, exactly, but they are on the road to Mexico. The woman who wrote it is a friend of mine, so I can say with certainty that it's about two women! I love this song.
posted by this roof at 3:30 PM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. Only one person's gender is specified, but come on, it's Tracy Chapman.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:32 PM on November 14, 2013 [6 favorites]


Do you remember the movie Thelma&Louise from the 90s? You could investigate the soundtrack.

Obviously, the movie might have inspired more than just this song from Danish Punk band HorrorPops, lyrics here.
posted by travelwithcats at 3:36 PM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


Try "This Town Is Wrong" by the Nields. (Lyrics)

They're not outlaws, but otherwise it seems to hit a lot of those buttons.
posted by shirobara at 4:12 PM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


"Get out the Map" by the Indigo Girls isn't explicit about the gender(s) of the subjects, but it wouldn't be crazy to assume it's about two women. No crime though. There's probably other Indigo Girls' songs like what you're looking for as well.
posted by Tsuga at 11:45 PM on November 14, 2013


Another song that misses the mark in some ways (no legal trouble, no second gender specified) but hits others is You Can Sleep While I Drive. It sounds desperate and melancholic to me although on a re-listen I'm not positive that's the intent.
posted by ftm at 4:03 AM on November 15, 2013


This is probably not quite what you're looking for (wrong genre, sort of ambiguous), but I read Janelle Monae's "Sally Ride" as her (female) outlaw protagonist's plea to her lover/beloved/female-person-of-emotional-significance to to run away with her as she sings "I'm packing my space suit/And I'm taking my shit and moving to the moon/Where there no rules." Also it's a tribute to Sally Ride, so there's that.
posted by libraritarian at 7:17 AM on November 15, 2013


Try Jill Sobule's Resistance Song. It's got some gender-bending and danger.
posted by bunderful at 7:24 AM on November 15, 2013


Dead End Justice by the Runaways. It's like a punk chick Luxury Radio Theatre production or something.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:39 AM on November 15, 2013


This is only about one woman hitting the road, and she's not running from the law, she's leaving a jerk, but it's a great song. Ford Econoline by Nanci Griffith.
posted by Miko at 11:36 AM on November 15, 2013


Although the original is fairly clearly about a guy a girl, Melissa Ethridge's cover of Springsteen's "Born to Run" is both beautiful and, given the gender of the singer, about 2 women getting the hell out of dodge.
posted by cosmicbandito at 11:42 AM on November 15, 2013


Response by poster: Thanks everybody, I have so much to listen to! If anyone else sees this later, I'd love any further suggestions too!
posted by honey wheat at 6:33 PM on November 17, 2013


Argh. LUX Radio Theater, not Luxury. DY, AC!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 11:23 PM on November 17, 2013


Response by poster: Also, I meant to add that for anyone else who was interested in this question, I like the lyrics of this song that I found recently.

Thanks again for the recs, everyone!
posted by honey wheat at 8:49 AM on November 18, 2013


« Older All the world's a stage...pictures or it didn't...   |   Is your school tax a line item on your property... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.