500 miles
| 500 miles | |
|---|---|
| The Journeymen | |
| publication | 1961 |
| length | 3:13 |
| Genre (s) | Folk music |
| Author (s) | Hedy West |
| text | Hedy West |
| Label | Atzal Music |
| album | The Journeymen |
| Cover versions | |
| 1962 | The Kingston Trio |
| 1962/1963 | Peter, Paul and Mary |
| 1963 | Bobby Bare |
| 1963 | Peter Beil (German) |
| 1966/1967 | Elvis Presley (private recording) |
| 1989 | The Hooters |
| 2012 | Santiano (German) |
| 2013 | Justin Timberlake , Stark Sands , Carey Mulligan |
500 Miles (also known as English 500 Miles away from home or Railroader's Lament ) is a traditional English folk song , which was written by Hedy West in the 1961st The ballad has a melancholy mood and is about a railroad worker who is always away from home for far too long.
history
The American folk singer and songwriter Hedy West is considered to be the author of this song; the copyright was held by the music label Atzal Music, Inc. in New York. That same year it was released by The Journeymen and shortly afterwards by several other performers including Peter, Paul and Mary . In 1963 the version 500 Miles away from home of the Bobby Bare came out. The melody was the same, but the text had been changed and rewritten to an anti-war song, which now tells of a letter from a mother to her son who is far away at war and is supposed to return safe. Even Elvis Presley to about have taken in private in 1966 the song. The song became a successful song in other languages and was covered by numerous bands and performers.
Music writer and Elvis Presley expert David Neale believes that 500 Miles may have been inspired by an older song called 900 Miles , which in turn is based on a South American melody to Reuben's Train or Train 45 .
Musical structure
The song has a continuous 4/4 time and was originally composed in the key of G major , but many performers transpose the piece according to the vocal range of the singer. The harmony sequence for the guitar consists of the chords G, E , A , C , D , D 7 and again G major. The tempo is around 95 beats per minute ( moderato ), typical for a melancholy folk song. The song consists of three stanzas that sing of the longing of a traveling poor man for his home and his wife. At the end of the song the first verse is repeated. Depending on the interpretation, the song lasts a little over three minutes.
Cover versions (selection)
The song appeared among others:
- 1961: Title on the debut album of The Journeymen by the band of the same name.
- 1962: Title on the album College Concert by The Kingston Trio .
- 1962/1963: Album and single by Peter, Paul and Mary
- 1962: J'Entends Siffler Le Train French version by Richard Anthony
- 1963: 500 Miles away from home by Bobby Bare
- 1963: And your train drives through the night German version by Peter Beil .
- 1966/1967: Elvis Presley on In a Private Moment
- 1989: The Hooters on the album Zig Zag
- 2009/2011: Rosanne Cash on the albums The List and The Essential
- 2012: 500 miles interpreted by the group Santiano on the album Bis Ans Ende Der Welt
- 2013: Soundtrack for Inside Llewyn Davis recorded by Justin Timberlake , Stark Sands , Carey Mulligan
Web links
- Discogs: 500 miles. Album: Hedy West - Accompanying Herself On The 5 String Banjo (LP: Vanguard Records, 1963)
- Song: 500 Miles written by Hedy West. SecondHandSongs, accessed November 4, 2017 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Paul and Mary: "500 Miles". mdr.de, archived from the original on November 7, 2017 ; Retrieved November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Five Hundred Miles - Railroader's Lament. In: Vocal Popular Sheet Music Collection. 1961, Retrieved November 4, 2017 .
- ^ Hedy West . In: The Independent . 2005 ( co.uk ).
- ↑ Five Hundred Miles. antiwarsongs.org, accessed November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ David Neale's website (English).
- ^ Norm Cohen, David Cohen: Long Steel Rail. The Railroad in American Folksong (= Music in American life ). 2nd Edition. University of Illinois Press, Urbana 2000, ISBN 0-252-06881-5 , pp. 503 ff . ( books.google.com ).
- ↑ Sheet music with chords for guitar on gitarre-songs.gitarreweb.de.
- ↑ 500 Miles Lyrics The Journeymen on songtexte.com.
- ↑ "500 Miles" by The Journeymen. MusicBrainz, accessed November 4, 2017 .
- ^ The Kingston Trio - College Concert. Discogs, accessed November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Peter, Paul And Mary - 500 Miles. Discogs, accessed November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Richard Anthony (2) - J'Entends Siffler Le Train. Retrieved July 31, 2018 .
- ↑ 500 Miles Away from Home - Bobby Bare. In: Top 100 Hits of 1963 / Top 100 Songs of 1963. musicoutfitters.com, 1963, accessed November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Peter Beil - And your train travels through the night. hitparade.ch, accessed on November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Original versions of 500 Miles by Elvis Presley. SecondHandSongs, accessed November 4, 2017 .
- ↑ The Hooters - Zig Zag - 500 Miles. Discogs, accessed March 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Rosanne Cash - 500 Miles. Discogs, accessed August 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Santiano - 500 miles. In: germancharts.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Katie Van Syckle: See Justin Timberlake in 'Llewyn Davis' . In: Rolling Stone . December 3, 2013 ( rollingstone.com ).