Runnin' Away

by Stan C. Countz

Got up early one summer mornin’
Went out front to water the lawn
The window screen was layin’ there
Checked her room and she was gone

My little girl was no where to be found
Who knows why or where she’s bound
She’d left in the night without a sound
She’d hit the ground runnin’

CHORUS
Runnin’, runnin’, runnin’ away
I got somethin’ I just gotta say
It’s a cruel world out there today that’s a fact
Young girls who run away rarely make it back

I must’ve been asleep or maybe nappin’
But it ain’t funny and I ain’t laughin’
Today bad things can happen
When young girls run away

CHORUS

I’d always been her provider and protector
But now I’m not there to guide or direct her
I had tried to respect her right to privacy
But now I wanted her right here with me

I tried to fight back the gnawing fear
And fought against the welling tears
It can’t be as hopeless as it appears
But my little girl was no longer here
And I feared the worse

I didn’t know quite what to do
Was it somethin’ I’d done wrong
She’d left without leavin’ a clue
Why was my little girl gone?

Had I done somethin’ that made her wanna run?
Or maybe she was just being young and dumb
Hadn’t she heard a single word I had said
About runaways that were missing or dead?

I guess she must have had a real good reason
Maybe she was just teasin’ and went for a little walk
Or maybe it was just that time of the season
When she gets back we’ll have a heart to heart talk