A Decade-long Disagreement
I like to think I have a good musical ear, and can pick up lyrics quite easily upon hearing a song for the first time. However, for the better part of a decade, I have had a long-running disagreement with my wife, my family, my friends, and generally everyone else I bring this matter up with.
You may or may not know the song ‘Escape’ by Enrique Iglesias. But it might be better if you don’t, as it will help you have an unbiased opinion of the question I’m going to pose.
Now, I have ALWAYS maintained that the chorus of the song is:
“If you feel like leaving,
I’m not gonna make you stay,
But soon you’ll be finding
You can run, you can DIE,
But you can’t escape my love”
Everyone who I ever ask about the lyrics to this song always says “Oh, no, it’s ‘you can run, you can hide’”. Obviously, common sense suggests that it is ME who has got this wrong, and that everyone else is right.
But I refuse to accept that.
I will now explain why in a completely non-technical way (as I don’t know any other way).
If you actually listen to the song, you can clearly hear that in the line in question, before he says “But you can’t escape…”, that the preceding word ends in a soft “-aye” sound, as in “die”, and NOT a hard “-ide” sound, as in “hide”.
All lyric websites say I’m wrong, and so does everybody I ever ask about it.
But I’m not.
Make your own mind up by listening to the song below.
And then feel free to tell me I’m wrong. But I’m not.
