"500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament") is a 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.
Folklorist Norm Cohen writes that 900 miles, rather than 500, is the most common distance referenced in versions of the traditional song, but other distances including 400 miles and 10,000 miles also appear.[7]
In Finnish, the song has been recorded under at least five different song titles.[27] In 1963 Erkki Pohjanheimo recorded the song under title "Juna jättää laiturin" (English: "The Train Leaves the Platform"). Lyrics were written by Reino Helismaa. Pohjanheimo recorded the song from its French title "J'entends siffler le train", and it was on the B side of a 7" single called "Kutsukaa Tri Casey" (almost direct translation from "Callin' Dr. Casey", a hit by John D. Loudermilk).[28][27] The following year, a Finnish vocal quartet Neljä Penniä (English: Four Pennies) recorded a 7" single that consisted of two songs: "Washington Square" on the A side, and on the flip side there was a Finnish version of "500 Miles" under the title "Pitkät illat" (English: "The Long Evenings"), lyrics by Sauvo Puhtila.[29][27] Also in 1964, another version of the song was recorded by folk-spirited trio Anki, Bosse & Robert and titled "Viimeinen vihellys" (English: "The Last Whistle"), lyrics by Juha Vainio. "Viimeinen vihellys" was also a 7" single B side, on the A side there was Will Holt's song "Lemon Tree" (Finnish: "Sitruunapuu"). "Viimeinen vihellys" was released also on their self-titled record in 1965.[30][31][27] In 1979, the song was recorded yet again, by Jukka Raitanen. This time it was called "Liian kaukana" (English: "Too Far Away"). Lyrics were written by Raul Reiman. This song was released on Raitanen's album Yölinjalla. "Yölinjalla(in)" song is a Finnish version of the song "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash.[32]
500 Miles Away from Home was originally released in December 1963 by RCA Victor. It was the debut studio album of Bare's career and his second with the label. RCA originally distributed the project as a vinyl LP, with six songs on each side of the record.[3] Decades later, it was re-released for music download and streaming purposes.[5] In its original release, the album spent nine weeks on the American Billboard Top Country Albums chart. It peaked at number nine on the chart the week of February 28, 1964 and became his second top ten album on the chart.[6] It also became Bare's second album to chart the Billboard 200, peaking at the number 133 position on February 8, 1964.[7]
500 Miles Away from Home was met with positive reception in later years from AllMusic. The publication rated the project 4.5 out of 5 possible stars. They also named the project's title track as an "album track pick".[1] The only single included on the album was the title track, which was originally released by RCA Victor in September 1963.[8] It became Bare's second top ten single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number five.[9] Crossing over onto the Billboard Hot 100, it became his second top ten single on that chart as well, peaking at number ten.[10] On the Billboard adult contemporary chart, the song reached the number four position.[11]
I'm assuming this is the fault of my 5 yo son as he was recently giving alexa a million commands. Whenever I tell my Echo to play a song it will concurrently play on the Echo but also take over whatever my wife is listening to on her IPhone. This happened while she was in the car, miles away from home. She uses Spotify and I'm assuming there's a relationship there but I can't figure out why it would control music on her phone. I'm looking at all of my devices and not even seeing her iPhone as an option to disable it. Any suggestions on how to make this stop?
Left at midday and drove 180 miles home. It's now 9pm here - so 9 hours after I left - and I've just sat down to listen to some tunes; was connected to my Lounge as usual, but no sound. Toggle volume up and down, switch tunes, still nothing.
He was going through some drug addictions, and we had some issues where he, like, stole some of my jewelry. He did a few things that - I just noticed that I had to separate myself from him at the time until he got better. But what I didn't do and handle it the right way was ask him before I put the song out. And I also didn't think that the song will end up with 40 million streams.
It's a story about this kid that comes home from winter break and gets robbed. When he - he left the hood and went to college, and he transformed into a different person. But when he comes back, his friends expect him to be the same person. So he gets his stuff stolen, and they expect him to stand on it and be a man, you know what I mean? Go, you know, grab a gun, get your stuff back. And he faces the pressures of having to do that, but being fearful because he's not that person anymore. We forgot his little brother was sitting there on that porch, so he saw the gangbanging, the robbery. I love that song because, to me, that is what "Porches" is the epitome of, is sitting on a porch and learning all of these things, good or bad, that end up shaping you for the rest of your life.
The song Five Hundred Miles Away from Home by Bobby Bare vividly portrays the pain and loneliness of a traveler who is far away from his loved ones. The song tells the story of an individual who is separated from his family and friends by five hundred miles, and who longs to be reunited with his loved ones.
The lyrics of the song clearly express the anguish of a person who is far from home. The protagonist of the song expresses his deep yearning to return to the comfort of his own bed and to be in the arms of his loved ones. The song also highlights the difficulties faced by travelers who are far from home, including feelings of isolation and disconnection from the people and places that they love.
Despite the challenges and hardships faced by the protagonist in the song, Five Hundred Miles Away from Home is a powerful and moving ballad that strikes a chord with many people who have ever been away from their loved ones.
The distance of 500 miles emphasizes the physical and emotional distance between the protagonist and his loved ones, and highlights the challenge of being far away from home for an extended period of time.
The song is still popular today because it speaks to the universal experience of being far away from home and missing loved ones. Its powerful lyrics and memorable melody have made it a beloved classic of American folk and country music.
Heard a version of this song the other day on Bluegrass Junction, Sirius Radio, that I have never heard before and I always assumed that the version performed by Peter, Paul & Mary was THE version. The version I heard had several verses that I never heard including one verse about a letter from home and another verse about walking the railroad ties. Cannot remember the artist who sang. Can anyone provide the lyrics to this version of Five Hundred Miles?
Hedy West (1938-2005) performs the song that she composed and is most remembered for, from one of her early albums on Vanguard Records. West was frequently cited as the best of the female soloists of the Folk Revival of the 1950s and 1960s, due in no small part to her fidelity to her authentically Appalachian roots.
West composed "500 Miles" based on songs she had heard from her grandmother,and though the number was covered and made famous by harmonizing pop-folk groups of the era like The Journeymen, Peter Paul and Mary, and the Kingston Trio, the purity of West's heritage from the mountains of the southeastern U.S. shines through in her own performance.
Check out Grayson & Whitter's "Train 45" recorded Oct. 1927, I believe the song 500 miles is derived from this. Many others recorded this song including Woody Guthrie, the Stanley Brothers and Arthur Smith just to name a few.
We are lucky though. Our tastes are similar much more often than not. We like a lot of the same music, and we like to talk about music. For some reason, the issue of cover songs comes up quite a bit. We both agree. For a cover song to be truly worthwhile, the new version should innovate on the original version. A new interpretation should be offered that reflects the world view and experiences of a different artist without being so different from the original that all connection between the two, beyond the lyrics and the melodic theme, is lost.
The song "One Hundred Miles Away from Home" by Glen Campbell portrays the emotional journey of a person who is far away from their loved ones. The lyrics describe the protagonist receiving a tear-stained note from their mother, expressing how much they miss and love them and urging them to come back home. However, the protagonist finds themselves already carrying everything they own on their back, emphasizing their transient and nomadic lifestyle.
The song captures the feelings of distance, isolation, and longing. The repetitive line "Away from home, away from home" emphasizes the protagonist's disconnection from their familiar surroundings and support system. They feel cold, tired, and alone, which serves to emphasize the hardships and challenges they face while being so far away.
The lyrics also highlight the physical struggles of their journey, mentioning the lack of food and relying on hitchhiking ("thumb and walk and wait"). The repetition of being "five hundred miles away from home" emphasizes the vastness of the distance and the continued absence from their loved ones.
The song captures the bittersweet nature of being away from home. While the protagonist acknowledges that luck may have allowed them to be with their family, their circumstances have kept them separated. "One Hundred Miles Away from Home" expresses the profound emotional impact of physical distance and the persistent longing for connection and belonging.
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