she said: "It's strange how this song fits my life better now that I could ever imagine when I wrote the song itself. It's about how important it is to have a soft place to fall". According to Aurora, the lyrics "came out of nowhere" and the they became meaningful to her after she grew up. The singer has stated that "Runaway" is one of the few songs from her debut album to "be about [her]." The verses cover various topics like "climbing trees, painting pictures, and dancing in the rain." At the chorus of the song she begs "Take me home, home where I belong." Release and reception "Runaway" was first originally released through Aurora's SoundCloud on 9 February 2015. On 16 February 2015, the song was released for digital download and streaming as the lead single on Aurora's debut EP Running with the Wolves. Additionally, promotional CDs were issued in the United Kingdom. The single was later re-released for her debut album All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend (2016). Aurora also released two acoustic versions of the song: a guitar acoustic version on 5 March and a piano acoustic version on 11 March. An edited version titled "Runaway (Lvl. 2)" was released on 7 May 2021. Glassnote Records issued a 12-inch vinyl single on 11 November 2022, which contained the original version of the song and the "Lvl. 2" edit. "Runaway" was well received by most music critics. Robin Murray of Clash called the song "a graceful return" and lauded the singer's mature songwriting. Miranda Feneberger from Paste wrote that the track "channels a soft power". Alexandra Pollard for Gigwise noted in her review of All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend that "there's an eeriness lurking beneath the beauty of ['Runaway']," adding that "its cavernous clicks and echoes make themselves at home before it bursts into something warmer." She also labeled its lyrics as "unsettling." A writer for Rolling Stone called the song a "viral lullaby." DIYs Sean Murray said that "Runaway" tackled more mature themes, regarding the song to be about "a former love." Will Hodgkinson of The Times characterised "Runaway" to be "about feeling lost that has a poetic wisdom belying her 19 years." He praised how Aurora "uses her clear and unadorned tones to good effect" in the song. Marcy Donelson of AllMusic was less favourable towards "Runaway", she pointed out