Runaway Daydreamer

Ellis-Bextor performing

"Runaway Daydreamer", as with the rest of Wanderlust, was co-written by its producer Ed Harcourt along with Ellis-Bextor. It was recorded at the State of the Ark studios, mixed and engineered by Richard Woodcruft, and mastered by Miles Showell.[1] It is a chamber pop track which includes string arrangements and "shuffled percussion".[2][3] Clare Considine of Time Out compared its sonority to that of a Humphrey Bogart movie soundtrack.[4] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the track as a "girl group homage".[5] Davidf Farrell of PopMatters opined that the song and "Until the Stars Collide" set a "soaring, dreamy" atmosphere for Wanderlust.[6] According to the sheet music published by Music Sales Group, the song contains 116 beats per minute in crotchet. Its introduction follows a chord progression of C—F/C—C—F/C—C—F/C—C—F, and transitions into the verse section in which the notes C–F–C are followed. The track is composed in the traditional verse–chorus form. Ellis-Bextor's vocals during the song incorporate the melisma technique and span from G₃ to E₅.[7]

The song's lyrics, which discuss escapism, are constructed in a way resemblant of nursery rhymes.[8] During the chorus, Ellis-Bextor sings "It's just my imagination / Running away / Girl's gotta have a little daydream / It's a secret escape / It's just my imagination / Running away / Don't worry baby, I'm here to stay".[7] Considine highlighted "I could tie up the bed sheets and slide down the house / Be gone before the morning comes" as lyrics exemplificative of Ellis-Bextor's "artistic freedom" in Wanderlust.[4] Reviewing the song for Loud and Quiet, Stuart Stubbs wrote that it "sees our protagonist pull herself out of squalor and onto a road of self discovery."[9] The song concludes with a short outro where Ellis-Bextor repeats the line "Don't worry baby, I'm here to stay" twice.[7]

On behalf of Virgin Media, Matthew Horton opined that "Runaway Daydreamer" was the standout of Wanderlust, describing Ellis-Bextor's vocals in it as "prim and gorgeous".[2] James Fyfe of The 405 echoed his view, praising Ellis-Bextor's vocal performance, as well as highlighting its sonority, despite observing it was not "musically adventurous".[10] Writing for Digital Spy, Robert Copsey billed the song as beautiful and "shimmering".[11] Thomas Erlewine highlighted the song as a standout, commenting that the album was "at its best when it's slightly dexterous", citing the song as an example.[5] The Irish Times' Louise Bruton wrote that the song explores "twee danger zones" and called it a "blunder".[12]

A promotional CD single including "Runaway Daydreamer"'s radio edit, with a length of 3 minutes and 27 seconds, was sent to radio stations in March 2014.[13] The song was released in the United Kingdom on 23 March 2014.[14] The music video for "Runaway Daydreamer" was directed by Sophie Muller, and released on 8 March 2014; it was mostly filmed during the taping of the video for "Young Blood"—Wanderlust's previous single. Ellis-Bextor lip-synchs the song's lyrics inside a lounge room, wearing a white lace dress, with her hair gathered into a ponytail; she is also seen walking through an abandoned pier, dining at a restaurant and posing in front of a small white house. The visual's aspect ratio is changed throughout, ranging from windowbox to letterbox.[15][16] Ellis-Bextor performed the song in an acoustic setting, on the morning programme ZDF Morgenmagazin, aired on 23 January 2014 on German channel ZDF.[17] On 17 March of that year, she sang it on ITV's Loose Women.[18] The song charted on the UK Indie Singles at number 29.[19]

Promotional CD single

Details adapted from the credits of the CD single of "Runaway Daydeamer".[13]

1. "Runaway Daydreamer" (Radio edit) – 3:27

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Wanderlust.[1]

• Sophie Ellis-Bextor – lead vocals, songwriting
• Ed Harcourt – songwriting, production, background vocals, samples, synth, keyboards, piano
• Gita Langley – violin
• Richard Woodcraft – engineering, mixing
• Miles Showell – mastering