Run Boy Run (song)

"Run Boy Run" is a song by Yoann Lemoine, under his stage name Woodkid. It was released as the second single from his debut studio album, The Golden Age. It was written by Lemoine and Ambroise Willaume from the French band Revolver. The single was released on 21 May 2012, becoming his highest-charting single. "Run Boy Run" was certified gold in Germany in 2014. The song has been described as a LGBTQ anthem.
The music video for "Run Boy Run" was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

Music video

The music video shows a young boy running, surrounded by various beasts that pick him up when he falls, hand him a sword and a shield, and put a horned helmet on his head. The video was directed by Lemoine himself.

In popular culture

"Run Boy Run" was used in several O₂ adverts and in a Vodafone advert.
It was used in the trailer for the BBC One series The Musketeers.
The song has been used in the films The Maze Runner and Divergent.
It was used in the trailer for the final series of the BBC Three series Being Human.
It was used in ads for the Power Horse energy drink in the Middle East and North Africa.
The song was used for a Paso Doble dance by Bethany Mota and Derek Hough on the show Dancing with the Stars.
It was used in certain Cancer Research UK adverts throughout 2014–15.
Dance troupe Khronos Agoria used the song for their semi-final performance on series 10 of Britain's Got Talent in May 2016 and Angara Contortion group used it for their audition on series 11 in May 2017.
It was used during the Wind Games 2017 by Kyra Poh whose performance won the Gold in Solo Freestyle.
It was used in Episode 14 of the third season of How to Get Away with Murder.
It was used in the ending of Episode 2 of the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why.
It was used in the beginning of Episode 2 of the Netflix show The Umbrella Academy.
It was used in the 2017 racing game Gran Turismo Sport. The song's instrumental version was used in the game's E3 2016 trailer.
It was used in the trailer for the film The Post directed by Steven Spielberg.
A portion was used by the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps in their 2019 program subTerra.
An instrumental version of the song is used in the trailer for the 2019 film The Death & Life of John F. Donovan.
In 2023, Irish singer Samantha Mumba added a cover of "Run Boy Run" during her performance at that year's Mighty Hoopla festival.

Use in politics

"Run Boy Run" was used at a demonstration against same-sex marriage by French anti-LGBTQ organization La Manif pour tous in 2016, which was criticized by Lemoine, who himself is a gay man. The song was later also used in a campaign video for the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign. In response Lemoine stated that the use of the song was never authorized and called upon his label Universal Music France to react against it.

Track listing

"Run Boy Run" –
"Run Boy Run" –
"Run Boy Run" –
"Run Boy Run" –

Charts

Single release

Chart	Peak position
Ultratip 40 Belgian Singles Chart	43
SNEP French Singles Chart	52
UK Singles Chart	44
Austrian Singles Chart	39
German Singles Chart	11

Run Boy Run – Remixes position

Chart	Peak position
SNEP French Albums Chart	31