Running Scared (Roy Orbison song)

Running Scared is a 1961 American song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. An operatic rock ballad, the song was released as a 45rpm single by Monument Records in 1961 and went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop music charts.

The song also appears on Orbison's 1962 album titled Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits and his 1989 posthumous album A Black & White Night Live from the 1988 HBO television special.

Noted for being a song written without a chorus, the verse builds to a climax that, without vibrato, demonstrates the power of Orbison's clear, full voice.

John Peel, the famous British BBC Radio DJ, who died in 2005, listed Running Scared by Roy Orbison as one of the songs to be played at his memorial service.