The Escapist

Album: Viva la Vida (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This ambient number about escaping is a hidden track that follows on immediately after the final listed song "Death And All His Friends."
  • This was written by producer Brian Eno's friend John Hopkins, who "donated" it to the album.

Comments: 1

  • Liz from Sydney, Australia"And... in the end, we lie awake, and we dream of making our escape..."
    mhmmm. there's something about the way this song is done, that just makes me tingle. Its like we all want to escape, and were all trying to get out of something, and lets face it, everyone in the world is looking for a way out, from something. no matter how big or small. Our thought is bent so much on how we are going to escape...
    this whole song is life. In the end, this is all that anyone wants. And, there is nothing more important. This is beautiful...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of WayneSongwriter Interviews

The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.