50 Best Rock Songs About Running From the Law
Wild Rock Songs on the Run
There’s a certain pulse that hits when a track feels like an escape. Sirens bleeding into guitars, adrenaline snapping through the drums, that gut-deep feeling that something went sideways and you’re halfway down a dirt road before thinking it through. These songs catch that chaos—the smoky headlights, the wrong turn, the thrill that feels too close to panic. Some aren’t literally tied to a jailbreak or a police chase, but they still move like they’re speeding toward a line no one’s supposed to cross.
There’s a long tradition of outlaws hiding in riffs. From barroom storytellers to stadium acts, rock has always flirted with trouble. The swagger that comes from running from something, even if it’s guilt, bad love, or the version of yourself you left behind. That reckless edge turns into sound—grimy guitars, restless bass, a voice cracking like it’s had enough. You can feel it in the bones of songs that never needed to spell it out.
They blur into the same energy found in pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that trace rebellion through melody instead of law-breaking headlines. There’s something magnetic in that defiance, the way danger hums beneath every chord. These tracks carry that pulse, the kind that feels like rubber burning on wet asphalt. Here are the best rock songs about running from the law.
Top 10 Fugitive Rock Songs
1. 'Runnin' Down A Dream' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2. 'Running on Empty' by Jackson Browne
3. 'Police on My Back' by The Clash
4. 'Runaway Train' by Soul Asylum
5. 'Take the Money and Run' by Steve Miller Band
6. 'Band on the Run' by Paul McCartney and Wings
7. 'Runnin' From The Police' by Autumn Kings
8. 'Run Through the Jungle' by Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. 'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen
10. 'Break It to Them Gently' by Burton Cummings
Rock and Roll Songs of Escape #11 to 20
11. 'I Fought the Law' by The Clash
12. 'Running with the Devil' by Van Halen
13. 'Radar Love' by Golden Earring
14. 'Wanted Dead or Alive' by Bon Jovi
15. 'Highway Star' by Deep Purple
16. 'The End' by The Doors
17. 'Running for My Life' by Yellowcard
18. 'Running' by No Doubt
19. 'Smuggler's Blues' by Glenn Frey
20. 'Psycho Killer' by Talking Heads
Venture and Escape Rock Songs #21 to 30
21. 'Runaway' by Bon Jovi
22. 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress' by The Hollies
23. 'Shadow Captain' by Crosby, Stills & Nash
24. 'Thunder Road' by Bruce Springsteen
25. 'Run to the Hills' by Iron Maiden
26. 'Long Train Runnin'' by The Doobie Brothers
27. 'Breakaway' by Kelly Clarkson
28. 'Running' by 311
29. 'Hit and Run' by The Motels
30. 'The Passenger' by Iggy Pop
Road Trip and Flight Rock Songs #31 to 40
31. 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads
32. 'Take it on the Run' by REO Speedwagon
33. 'Ramble On' by Led Zeppelin
34. 'The Great Escape' by Boys Like Girls
35. 'Livin' on the Run' by Blackfoot
36. 'On the Run' by Pink Floyd
37. 'Banned' by Purpendicular
38. 'Run Like Hell' by Pink Floyd
39. 'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd
40. 'Refugee' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Fugitive and Chase Rock Songs #41 to 50
41. 'Long Gone' by Deep Purple
42. 'The Running Kind' by Merle Haggard
43. 'Break My Stride' by Matthew Wilder
44. 'Run to You' by Bryan Adams
45. 'Runaway' by Del Shannon
46. 'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)' by Rupert Holmes
47. 'The Long Run' by Eagles
48. 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place' by The Animals
49. 'Get Outta Dodge' by Paul Revere & The Raiders
50. 'Go Now' by The Moody Blues
© 2025 Carson McQueen
