When I was young before I had cassettes, the only good way of making a playlist of songs was to stack 45s on the turntable. I would arrange for them to play my favorite songs in my favorite order. These posts are about records I had in my stacks.
The song “Run Through the Jungle” was released on April 1970 by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was one of my favorite records. It was written by John Fogerty, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band. The song’s opening and closing both featured jungle sound effects created by, according to the band’s bassist Stu Cook, “lots of backward recorded guitar and piano.”
My all-time favorite Creedence tune was ‘Run Through the Jungle’. . . . It’s like a little movie in itself with all the sound effects. It never changes key, but it holds your interest the whole time. It’s like a musician’s dream. It never changes key, yet you get the illusion it does.
Tom Fogerty
I didn’t really know what the true meaning of the song was but everyone told me it was about the Vietnam War, which made sense. It turns out that John Fogerty explained that the song is actually about the proliferation of guns in the United States. The other side of this single was another great song, “Up Around the Bend”. The single climbed to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1970.
The Band
- John Fogerty – lead vocalist, lead guitarist
- Tom Fogerty – rhythm guitarist
- Stu Cook – bassist
- Doug Clifford – drummer
“Run Through the Jungle” has appeared in films such as “Air America” (1990), “My Girl” (1991), “Rudy” (1993), “The Big Lebowski” (1998), “Radio Arrow” (1998), “Tropic Thunder” (2008), “The Sapphires” (2012), “Kong: Skull Island” (2017), “Triple Frontier” (2019), and the trailer for “Jungle Cruise” (2021).
Lyrics
Whoa, thought it was a nightmare
Lord it was so true
They told me don't go walking slow
The devil's on the loose
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don't look back to see
Thought I heard a rumblin'
Calling to my name
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries, "Take aim"
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don't look back to see
Over on the mountain, thunder magic spoke
Let the people know my wisdom
Fill the land with smoke
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don't look back to see
Further Reading
Sources
