[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
54-40 — Baby Ran
Album: Radio Love Songs
Avg rating:
6.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 345









Released: 1990
Length: 4:12
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Well I won't come back
And I won't say no
But that means the circle around us
Will cut a little lower like you said
One play near
You seem so surprised
Least inside you get that
Pretty little nightmare it comes alive

(Chorus)
Baby ran she ran away
Why she ran I got to say
I'm lonesome all the time
Baby ran she ran away
Why she ran I got to say
I know one reason why.

Well each time I see you
So far away
A love letter worry that tells me
I'm all right all right
Here am I
Who chose to ride
Pass me wondering whether I got a job
But it's alright until one day
Comments (57)add comment
 mrfohr wrote:

I prefer the original recording. This version doesn't  have the same edge.





Whose original recording?  Because this one is foot-tapping 70 miles per hour hot.  
I prefer the original recording. This version doesn't  have the same edge.
 Jelani wrote:
Refreshments - "Banditos"?
 
Please!
Had the original album (self titled) this track was on.  Sounds like they re-did it for this album....I liked the original better.  The whole album was good.
yeah, real bright spot on the Canadian talent horizon!
Thanks Bill, and more please.
Is this version better? I think so.
Great band. Thanks Bill,
Refreshments - "Banditos"?
Great band! 
AAAA!  Just about leapt out of my shoes when I heard the first few notes of this...thanks Bill!  Saw them so many times so many years ago...Neil was always a bit of a smarmy git but man did they rock out those student pubs...54-40 on RP...the world is an amazing place full of wonderful littles surprises...
 Tagish_girl wrote:

yeah, I know I am replying to a REALLY OLD POST.....  Enemy... are you thinking of the famous 10-42?  You worked for 10 weeks to qualify for Unimployment Insurance, then took the next 42 weeks off?  Damn.  now they changed the name to Employment Insurance, and took away the 10-42. 

 
The name of this band has absolutely NOTHING to do with employment insurance benefits....trust me
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_boundary_dispute
 
 jim1964 wrote:

"54-40 or fight!" and "Pikes Peak or Bust"
 
54-40 or fight, I think
 weez wrote:
Reminds me of Insiders. Anyone remember those guys? (Ghost On The Beach)
 
I still have that CD. . . 
 
Reminds me of Insiders. Anyone remember those guys? (Ghost On The Beach)
 whistlercat wrote:
Dammit, it's "54 -40 Or Bust".  Look it up!  It has nothing to do with EI or whatever. 
 
"54-40 or fight!" and "Pikes Peak or Bust"
this song kicks butt
 handyrae wrote:
Never heard of these guys before. The songs is fun—not great art, but fun.
 
There you go.

wtf?
I'm surprised no-one picked up the similarity to early Bodeans - check out -Outside Looking In - Circa 1987 - Dreams.  At the time U2 was a huge influence - Bodeans was touring with them for a bit when they were establishing their sound.

 gatorade wrote:

Totally agree. Reminds me of Springsteen songs. Horrible boring drumming.

 

That's uncalled for. This band in no way, shape or form resembles Springsteen.  {#No}  Max Weinberg can (and does) drum circles around this cat.

Dammit, it's "54 -40 Or Bust".  Look it up!  It has nothing to do with EI or whatever. 

sirrus wrote:
That drummer has to be bored off his arse...

Totally agree. Reminds me of Springsteen songs. Horrible boring drumming.

 crockydile wrote:
I'm with Baby!!  {#Stop}
 
Congratulations, when's the due date? {#Roflol}

 The_Enemy wrote:


Actually, these guys took their name from the code number of the Unemployment Income application form the BC gov't uses (which is where the band is from).

The band UB-40 did the same thing although that was Britain's form. I don't know who came first but I'd bet on UB-40. 54-40 never struck me as an original band.
 
yeah, I know I am replying to a REALLY OLD POST.....  Enemy... are you thinking of the famous 10-42?  You worked for 10 weeks to qualify for Unimployment Insurance, then took the next 42 weeks off?  Damn.  now they changed the name to Employment Insurance, and took away the 10-42. 

I'm with Baby!!  {#Stop}
Never heard of these guys before. The songs is fun—not great art, but fun.
That drummer has to be bored off his arse...

Never heard of this group.  Would this be "arena" rock? 


Never heard it before; don't care to hear it again.
no thanks
One of my favorite songs by these guys, and this version is far superior to the "dance" version they also released.
Saw them last Saturday — they were in fine form. Touring on a new album, and the new stuff sounded excellent.
 copymonkey wrote:
This has such a mid-80s sound. i'm not familiar with this band, but they could be lumped in with a bunch of others who all started to sound like U2 all-of-a-sudden in that period. (The Alarm, Simple Minds, BoDeans et al)

 
That certainly is an 80's album cover. Great song, I'm doing the skippy boy dance.

copymonkey wrote:
This has such a mid-80s sound. i'm not familiar with this band, but they could be lumped in with a bunch of others who all started to sound like U2 all-of-a-sudden in that period. (The Alarm, Simple Minds, BoDeans et al)


Interesting hearing comments from folks hearing this song for the first time. These guys were awesome in their beginning around the time this song and album came out and played around vancouver a lot in the mid-eighties. In fact they just played a couple shows at the commodore ballroom in vancouver last weekend, the same place I saw them around 1986.


9 {#Arrow} 10

This has such a mid-80s sound. i'm not familiar with this band, but they could be lumped in with a bunch of others who all started to sound like U2 all-of-a-sudden in that period. (The Alarm, Simple Minds, BoDeans et al)

Not the best song in the world, but not horrible either. I could take it or leave it. A 4.
Didn't care for this one too much. To each his own, I guess...
Liked this song then, like it now. Another "only on RP".
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Actually, you're wrong.
Damn. I almost made it through the year without a mistake....
Dahnyul wrote:
Right, with a bit more. Being a Canadian Band from near the US Border the meaning of 54-40 has some significance. There was an active campaign, see below, for a time, to establish the US / Canadian border at Latitude 54 degrees, 40 minutes North, instead of where it is today, at Latitude 49 degrees North.
As discussed thoroughly in the link below...
Right, with a bit more. Being a Canadian Band from near the US Border the meaning of 54-40 has some significance. There was an active campaign, see below, for a time, to establish the US / Canadian border at Latitude 54 degrees, 40 minutes North, instead of where it is today, at Latitude 49 degrees North. ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Actually, you're wrong. The name is supposedly from US Pres. candidate James K. Polk's campaign slogan: 54-40 or Fight but not really... it was just one of those phrases that became common for a while. If you're not with us, you're against us. Band 54-40 wiki page
TJOpootertoot wrote:
Darn. I make an upload, it gets added instantly. I go away from my desk for an hour and then it gets played. Well, yay for 54-40! No, it's not the Best Song Ever Written but it's a jaunty, wonderful little post-punk-pop-anthem. I'll have to look forward to hearing it next time it gets played. TJ
Thanks for the upload. I missed it too, unfortunately. I love these guys. I used to hear them on CFNY out of Toronto back in the day.
TJOpootertoot wrote:
Darn. I make an upload, it gets added instantly. I go away from my desk for an hour and then it gets played. Well, yay for 54-40! No, it's not the Best Song Ever Written but it's a jaunty, wonderful little post-punk-pop-anthem. I'll have to look forward to hearing it next time it gets played. TJ
Good one! I like it!
I used to know these guys a bit in the mid-80s to the mid 90s. The singer used to go out with one of my best buddies' older sister. According to him this song was written about her...
Darn. I make an upload, it gets added instantly. I go away from my desk for an hour and then it gets played. Well, yay for 54-40! No, it's not the Best Song Ever Written but it's a jaunty, wonderful little post-punk-pop-anthem. I'll have to look forward to hearing it next time it gets played. TJ
roggles wrote:
They had hints of something special, but never pulled it off. Their stuff always sounded "meh, almost good".
I saw them live once, in San Francisco. Good audience, good show. But yeah, I agree. This one's an 8 but most are 6. I was able to hang out with them before and after the show... very nice guys (shared their beer!) and talented. Probably not enough of that crazy drive to be rockstars.
The_Enemy wrote:
Actually, these guys took their name from the code number of the Unemployment Income application form the BC gov't uses (which is where the band is from). The band UB-40 did the same thing although that was Britain's form. I don't know who came first but I'd bet on UB-40. 54-40 never struck me as an original band.
Actually, you're wrong. The name is supposedly from US Pres. candidate James K. Polk's campaign slogan: 54-40 or Fight but not really... it was just one of those phrases that became common for a while. If you're not with us, you're against us. Band 54-40 wiki page
I remember back in the bad-old-days, that my highschool "won" some odd radio contest, and our prize was getting these guys to play for our grad class. At the time I was pretty pumped, but when I turned up for the show there were perhaps 60 people there (out of a grad class of 700). The lead singer pleaded for us to "spread out a bit to make it look like there were more of us." Strange and sad. They had hints of something special, but never pulled it off. Their stuff always sounded "meh, almost good".
volvo245 wrote:
"54-40 or Fight" refers to where the US thought the US-Canada border ought to be (rather than the 49th parallel where it ended up, and remains now)
Actually, these guys took their name from the code number of the Unemployment Income application form the BC gov't uses (which is where the band is from). The band UB-40 did the same thing although that was Britain's form. I don't know who came first but I'd bet on UB-40. 54-40 never struck me as an original band.
25demayo wrote:
It's all right but nothing special.
I remember seeing these guys as part of an all-day concert. The thing that struck me was they were obviously exceptional musicians. They were obviously trying hard to put on a good show. And yet, the general feeling of the crowd was "They were ok." Overall, their music sounded technically good but there was no soul to it.
volvo245 wrote:
"54-40 or Fight" refers to where the US thought the US-Canada border ought to be (rather than the 49th parallel where it ended up, and remains now)
I had the exact same thought: 54°40' or Fight!!! (Blame Canada... Blame Canadaaaaa... :oD )
"54-40 or Fight" refers to where the US thought the US-Canada border ought to be (rather than the 49th parallel where it ended up, and remains now)
Well, that was a waste of three minutes of everyone's lives....
25demayo wrote:
It's all right but nothing special.
correct
It's all right but nothing special.