| "Runnin' Down a Dream" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byTom Petty | ||||
| from the albumFull Moon Fever | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | July 29, 1989 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
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"Runnin' Down a Dream" is a song co-written and recorded byTom Petty. It was released in July 1989 as the second single from his first solo albumFull Moon Fever. "Runnin' Down a Dream" achieved reasonable chart success, reaching number 23 both in Canada and on the USBillboard Hot 100 and the top of theBillboardAlbum Rock Tracks chart.[3] It has since garnered significant airplay onclassic rock stations, and lent its name to the2007 documentary on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The song was co-written byMike Campbell, along with Petty andJeff Lynne. It was a nod to Petty's musical roots, with the lyric "me and Del were singin' 'Little Runaway'" making reference toDel Shannon and "Runaway".
The song usesE major as atonic, but makes ample use of chords outside that key, such as D, G, and Cmajor chords. The repeatingfuzz guitar riff, using the notes B, B♭, A, G, and E, lacks only a D to complete the hexatonic Eblues scale.[4]
The guitar solo that closes out the song, played by Mike Campbell, is nearly two full minutes long and was recorded in one take.[5]
Themusic video for "Runnin' Down a Dream", directed by Jim Lenahan and animated by Pittsburgh-based companies Allan & Wilson Animation Studio and Anivision Ltd., featuredanimation, based on several episodes of the classic comic stripLittle Nemo in Slumberland byWinsor McCay, featuring a drawing style reminiscent of McCay's and showing Petty and a character who resembles Flip travelling through Slumberland. The 1933 filmKing Kong is also briefly referenced when Petty, atop theChrysler Building, attempts to swat at attacking oversized mosquitoes, much like Kong swatting at the biplanes in the film.
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| AustraliaARIA Singles Chart[6] | 68 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] | 23 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[8] | 55 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[9] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[10] | 23 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
It was the official theme song of the2006 NBA Finals as well as the2008 NBA Finals. The song was also used byABC in the2010 NBA Finals when the presentation of the game reached the end of the third quarter and was phased out into a commercial break. The song was featured inGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the in-game classic rock station K-DST.[12] The song is playable inGuitar Hero 5 and was released as downloadable content forRock Band 2; inGuitar Hero 5 the master track is used.[13]
It closed Petty and the Heartbreakers' performance at the February 2008Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show,[14] encoda'ed with a longMike Campbell guitar solo.[14] The next morning, following the Patriots loss to the Giants, which ended their chance at perfection, the song was used during Super Bowl highlights on ESPN. It was also used in promotional segments of the 2008 MLB World Series.
In 2011, the song was included inTom Hanks's filmLarry Crowne and on its soundtrack.[15] In the animated television seriesKing of the Hill episode"Arlen City Bomber", Lucky Kleinschmidt (voiced by Tom Petty) says "I'm gonna help you run down that dream, Bobby" of getting Bobby a freshly made corn chip off the production line. The song was used in theFamily Guy episode "The Book of Joe" when Brian achieves his "runner's high".
In 2017 after Petty's death, NBC used the song for the promo for its telecast of theMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race atHomestead-Miami Speedway. NBC began using a version of this song as their theme forNASCAR on NBC in the summer of 2018, replacing "Bringing Back the Sunshine" byBlake Shelton. This song is covered byZZ Ward.[16] The song was also featured on the opening montage of ON Video Skateboarding Issue #1 Summer 2000.
