Monday, February 8, 2010

500 miles


500 miles



500 Miles lyrics

1. If you miss the train, I'm on,
You will know that I am gone.
You can hear the whistle blow
One hundred miles.
One hundred miles, one hundred miles,
One hundred miles, one hundred miles,
You can hear the whistle blow
One hundred miles.

2. Lord, I'm one, lord, Im two,
Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four,
Lord, I'm five hundred miles
Away from home.
Five hundred miles, five hundred miles,
Five hundred miles, five hundred miles,
Lord, I'm five hundred miles
Away from home.

3. Not a shirt on my back,
Not a penny to my name.
Lord, I can't go a-home
This a-way.
This a-way, this a-way,
This a-way, this a-way,
Lord, I can't go a-home
This a-way.

"500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament") is a folk song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return. The song is generally credited as being written by Hedy West,[1][2] and a 1961 copyright is held by Atzal Music, Inc.[1] Some recordings have also credited Bobby Bare, Curly Williams, and/or John Phillips as co-writers.[3] West may have learned a version of the song as a child from her paternal grandmother Lillie Mulkey West.[citation needed] David Neale writes that "500 Miles" may be related to the older folk song, "900 Miles," which may itself have origins in a southern American fiddle tune called "Reuben's Train."[3]
"500 Miles" is West's "most anthologized song."[4] The song appears on the 1961 self-titled debut album by The Journeymen[5]; this may have been its first release.
The song was heard on the February, 1962 Kingston Trio live album College Concert (a 1962 US#3). It was further popularized by Peter, Paul & Mary (it was the second track on their US#1, May 1962 debut album).[6][7] Rewritten with new lyrics (by Bobby Bare), it charted as a hit single by American country music singer Bobby Bare in 1963.[4] It has also been recorded by Sonny & Cher, The Hooters, Reba McEntire, The Seldom Scene, Roseanne Cash, Bad Astronaut, and many others.[8]

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