Styx – Renegade | Haunting, Explosive, and Brilliant

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Hey guys, welcome to PQ, very much and talk about music as classical musicians.

[00:00:04]Today's song is Renegade by Styx. This song is mostly from you guys like in your comments when we reacted to I think a few Styx songs. I think this is one of their maybe most like famous songs, but today is the day that we are finally listening to it. We are actually very excited. I feel like Styx is one of those bands that even though we listened to only of their songs, I feel like they have their own sound. I don't know if I'm judging too early or not, but I feel like their their songs are like very creative in their own way and they have their own signature to it.

[00:00:43]But we'll see today if that's the case with this song or not. This song definitely has a very interesting title.

[00:00:50]So we are so excited to see what's it all about, the arrangement, instrumentation and everything. Oh mama, [singing] I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the [singing] law.

[00:01:07]Lawman has put an end [singing] to my running and I'm so far from my [singing] home.

[00:01:18]Oh mama, [singing] I can hear you are crying. You're so scared and [music] all alone.

[00:01:28]Hangman [singing] is coming [music] down from the gallows and I don't have very long.

[00:01:36]>> [music] >> Ah.

[00:01:41]Wait, wait.

[00:01:42]Okay, I feel like we should listen to that transition one more time. It started so surprising because I was not expecting like an a cappella moment that was happening and then obviously like they switched to like what I probably was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was expecting like obviously instruments. But yeah, the acapella was definitely very interesting and they added of like the second voice was very interesting because it was kind of like as a support of the first line, but it also created like very weird, not weird, but like interesting intervals because it was just the two of them. So, I don't know. It's just like and lyrics.

[00:02:25]I don't know.

[00:02:26]I'm just going to save my all of my judgment for when we listen to more of it. Oh, mama, [singing] I'm in fear for my life from the long arm [singing] of the law.

[00:02:41]Lawman is putting [singing] in to my running and I'm so far from my home.

[00:02:48][singing] Oh, mama, [music] I can hear you a crying. You're so scared [singing] and [music] all alone.

[00:03:02]Hangman [singing and music] is coming down from the gallows and I don't have [singing] very long.

[00:03:09]>> [music] >> Yeah, the jig is up. You can use it up. They finally [music] found me.

[00:03:16]Renegade, you had it made. You treat all about me.

[00:03:21]>> [music] >> Never more to go astray.

[00:03:23]This will be the end of the law of the one you made. [music] Oh, mama, I've been [music] years on the lam and had a hunch on my head.

[00:03:39]Lawman [music] said, "Get him dead or alive." And I was for sure he'll see me dead.

[00:03:48]>> [music] >> Yeah, mama, I can hear you crying.

[00:03:52]You're so scared [music] and all alone.

[00:04:02]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Okay, let's just wait here. I love that I don't know I don't know if I should call it ostinato, but the the same melody that they started acapella, but then it kind of went throughout in the instruments in the background. I don't know what that instrument is. I feel like an organ. I don't know. But also it just went all the way and then he was mostly singing on that melody, but like sometimes a variation of that. So that was very interesting and also the shift from that to that was crazy.

[00:04:56]The shift to like a true rock song that you just like sing along and everything from that kind of spooky intro. That was definitely something interesting. I think um the intro needs a really big credit. I could I could really just hear a song with the style of or the vibe of that intro and I would be really happy.

[00:05:22]Um It actually also reminded me of the first song that we listened from Tool.

[00:05:31]Uh the pot. Uh because that intro was also like um kind of not acapella, but it was like singing without any instrument.

[00:05:43]Um and And had like kind of the same vibe.

[00:05:47]And also, actually, the kind of the vibe of the second tool that we listened to because of this percussion that that it was like it it added like this it's like your heart beat your heart is beating and you're like what's what's going to happen? I It's you know that it's something is going up and something is going to happen and it's like you're afraid, you're you're wondering or or something because you know that something is going going to be happen.

[00:06:23]And other than that, the harmonies that they used, the whole I don't know the whole vibe of it. I really loved the intro, especially with the lyrics.

[00:06:33]I It It really had this kind of um not folk song, but like um I don't know this really ancient old kind of um songs that coming comes from the heart of a village or something and and then you you just have a percussion simple percussion instrument and you're just do it it it had a really its own vibe. I really like the intro.

[00:07:10]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Nice. I like the again the part that Yeah. Was reminding the the intro like it was same as intro but now it's a little more flashy or fancier and like more braver and out there than the intro. The intro was like you're sitting somewhere and you're just singing and you have your little instrument and you're more introvert but then it's like you sing the same, you have the same feelings but you're like I have more confidence now and you're more out there. I I really really love that.

[00:10:10]That had exactly the same vibe of that traditional, I don't know how to describe it but the traditional [music] old um um kind of songs that is coming from a out of the village and then it's a going through like it went through 100 years and then everyone in in I don't know a tribe or something was is singing that for decades. Um and especially with the percussion thing it really had this vibe and I I really like the both times that it came.

[00:10:49]>> [music] >> Yeah, I feel like the reason is um probably because you did you don't hear especially in the intro I guess maybe in that middle section as well you don't hear like necessarily uh traditional harmony like uh it's just like two intervals together so it reminds you of maybe like uh organums I don't know I guess.

[00:11:14]So it was like older music like Renaissance music when there was no like >> [music] >> harmony like in the in the way that we know now.

[00:11:23]Uh it's just like two lines that go again they don't necessarily make a third or sixth interval. I mean I'm not sure what interval they were doing that but they're like obviously moving but I think yeah, you're right. And also the way that they chose to phrase [music] that and like have put the melody in.

[00:11:40]Yeah, it really felt like I don't know.

[00:11:42]I also like the the lyrics were very interesting because like their lyrics in the beginning it was started with like what is happening?

[00:11:55]It was like a full story, I feel like, but then at [music] the end we don't get to know what happened, obviously. It's more like a like the confession or like a I guess I don't know like a letter that he's writing the last moments of his life, but then at the end you don't know what happens. Like a journal that you don't know what happened to him. But but then the fact that it switched from that kind of intro like acapella moment to that like celebration rock arrangement is just a little like paradoxical to me because >> [music] >> the lyrics state like the same that oh, I am the wanted man and then I am about to be hanged, something like that.

[00:12:39]But then at the same time it felt like oh, we're are we celebrating that? Like what is happening in that like I'm so curious to see like what inspired the songwriter to write this song. Like and if there is like obviously if you just look at the surface, it can like mean that it's just like a literal person who's about to be like executed or the like basically the death is getting close to him. But at the same time I am curious to see if it has like a different meaning or like another interpretation. I cannot think of any at the moment. Maybe if we just go and read the lyrics and listen to it a little bit more.

[00:13:25]But it's definitely like an interesting aspect, an interesting, um, instrumentation. I cannot wrap my head around that arrangement yet. I mean, it's very It was very pleasant to listen to. I loved the song. Uh, it's just like I I'm just not curious to to just know all what is happening. And I love that they kept that, again, the ostinato line basically mostly throughout the song.

[00:13:53]Um, [music] totally like except for that guitar solo, but he started kind of like in a different melody, but then he made his way to that melody. So, again, it was kind of like a reminder. It felt like a like an echo in your in your head that that melody is just haunting you. And it felt like something is getting closer and closer and closer. Yeah, definitely I could really see that there is something deeper behind the lyrics, and I really want to know what's behind. So, I have to also read it a couple times, and uh, maybe a little read about it.

[00:14:29]>> Yeah.

[00:14:30]Uh, yeah, I would I'd be really interested to see what Yeah, that's true. And then the the I mean, I I guess you talked about the drums or like the percussion instrument. Um, it also like really felt like, especially in the faster part, that drum beat or like the beat behind the groove basically of the song, really felt like we're moving forward and forward and forward. So, that's also like maybe it's like inevitable to move toward that moment of death that he was talking about. I don't know. I guess maybe it kind of made sense the arrangement because we're just moving forward to something. Uh, but it's just like the whole story is I feel like it's a little vague to me. I I don't know if they uh, they meant for it to be like open to interpretation or if there's something deeper to that or if maybe they just thought this is like a cool concept of story. I don't know if it has like any any other personal experience behind it or not. So definitely very interesting side of sticks. I don't think we heard anything like that from them. I actually have to go refresh my mind and if you guys want to do so, I can also put the other sticks songs that we listened to before. I think both of them if I don't even remember if it was two or one. I remember that one of them definitely because it started kind of like with a piano kind of like a Mozart theme like very simple piano and then it just developed into something. I I love that song. But I also remember we did one more. So if and both both of them were a while ago so I can find the links for them and with this one we're going to make a sticks playlist because now finally we have three of them and we can link that in the future. But anyway, we hope you guys enjoyed watching us listening to this video. If you have any other information about the lyrics or anything, please let us know in the comments. We would be so interested to read them and learn more. But don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel as well if you haven't already. If you want to support us more, there's a buy me a coffee link in the description. Thank you again for watching and we'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye. Bye.