Run On (3:43)

“Run On” was released as a single by the electronic artist Moby. It was the second single released from his album Play. This was also the second single charting at #33 on the UK Singles Chart. Two versions of the CD were released. The first, with a red cover featuring a vertically-aligned mousetrap, featured two remixes of “Run On” and two other tracks. The second, with a yellow cover featuring a horizontally-aligned mousetrap, contained four different “Run On” remixes.

“Run On” is a traditional folk song which also known as “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”. Mobys remix version features vocals fromBill Landford & The Landfordaires song Run for a Long Time. The lyrics are a warning to sinners that no matter how hard they try, they will not avoid God’s judgement; in the chorus, God Himself tells the narrator of the song to:
“Go tell that long tongue liar,
go and tell that midnight rider,
tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter,
tell ‘em that God’s gonna cut ‘em down”
with some versions inserting slight variations in lyrics.

The song has, in the past, been modified to fit the boundaries of genres like country, folk, gospel and techno. As “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”, it was performed by Odetta God’s Gonna Cut You Down on Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956) and Johnny Cash on the posthumously released American V: A Hundred Highways (2006). As “Run On”, it was recorded, among others, by Elvis Presley. The Blind Boys of Alabama also included Run On For A Long Time on their Grammy-winning album “Spirit of the Century” in 2001.