Play Cartoon Cat the Music Video, Run Away, on FNF.

“Run Away” is a horror-themed song about Cartoon Cat, the towering, rubber-hose-style monster created by internet artist Trevor Henderson. It was made by YouTube musician OR3O, featuring SleepingForest and SamHaft, and released in early August 2020 with a runtime of about three minutes. Sam Haft — who later became well known for his songwriting on Hazbin Hotel — lends his voice to the track, which leans into the creepy carnival, old-cartoon aesthetic that fits the character perfectly. The song is written largely from the perspective of a victim being stalked through empty hallways, capturing the dread of realizing something inhuman is toying with you, while Cartoon Cat itself gets to gloat with a sinister, showman-like charm. Musically it blends bouncy, swing-inspired rhythms (evoking 1930s cartoons) with darker modern production, so it feels playful and menacing at the same time — a contrast that made it a standout among the wave of Trevor Henderson creature songs that year.

The song got a second life a few months later when an animated music video by Mautzi Animation Studio was released in late November 2020, giving the track striking visuals of Cartoon Cat contorting and lurching through an abandoned building as it hunts the protagonist. The animation embraces the character’s unsettling design — the too-wide grin, the impossibly stretchy limbs, the way it moves like a corrupted Golden Age cartoon — and it helped the song spread even further through the horror-music community, inspiring fan-made SFM recreations, reaction videos, and countless covers. Between OR3O’s melodic hooks, Haft’s theatrical vocal delivery, and the memorable animation, “Run Away” remains one of the most popular musical takes on Cartoon Cat and a fan favorite in the indie horror-song genre.

Lyrics:

I see you walking down the halls
And through my corridors
And through your peripheral
You see a shadow through the door
Sweat drips down your face
Feeling odd about this place
Knees are shaking, eyes are twitching
And your heart starts to race

And suddenly you see
A monster in 2D
Mouth wide open
You’re in pure shock
Oh, ready or not, here I come!

Run, run
Run away my prey
And try to beat me in this race
And if I catch you by the toe
You’ll be howling in my cage

Run, run
Run away my little mouse
And if you hesitate
I will eat you up with just one bite
You better get out of this place

Waiting here for my next meal
Someone to interrupt my peace
I’ll be the wolf that’s waiting for
My victim and my sheep
I see another prey
Can’t wait to have a taste
Extending limbs will cause you harm
If you don’t expect my game

You feel something strange
A hand with so much range
Arms outstretched, I’m on the hunt
Oh, ready or not, here I come!

Run, run
Run away my prey
And try to beat me in this race
And if I catch you by the toe
Then you’ll be howling in my cage

Run, run
Run away my little mouse
And if you hesitate
I will eat you up with just one bite
You better get out of this place

Run, run
Run away
You better run because you are my bait
When I snatch you up with just one hand
Nothing will go to waste

Run, run
Run away
Run away before I beat you to this chase
You try to make it out alive
But now it is too late

As always, remember to have fun!