I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)


"I'm Gonna Be " is a song written and performed by Scottish duo The Proclaimers, and first released as the lead single from their 1988 album Sunshine on Leith. The song reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart on its initial release and has since become their most popular song worldwide. It was a number 1 hit in Iceland, then number 1 in Australia and New Zealand in early 1990.
In 1993, following its appearance in the American film Benny & Joon, the song was released in North America and many other countries around the world. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in August 1993, as well as number 8 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and number 25 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart; it also reached number 4 in Canada. In 2007, the Proclaimers re-recorded the song with English comedians Peter Kay and Matt Lucas for the UK's Comic Relief charity telethon, scoring a number one hit in the UK and outperforming their original UK chart run.
"I'm Gonna Be " has become a live staple at the Proclaimers' concerts. The duo played it at Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push at Murrayfield Stadium on 6 July 2005, the final concert of Live 8, to symbolise the conclusion of "The Long Walk to Justice".

Background

The song was mainly written by Craig Reid in August 1987 while waiting to travel to a Hibernian Football Club match in Aberdeen. Reid recalled, "I can remember sitting at the piano wondering how many steps it would be to the new classroom and the chords just came to me. I reckon I wrote the whole thing in 45 minutes. I knew that it was a good song, maybe even a single, but I had no idea how popular it would become." Reid has said that the band's earnings from the song are about five times the rest of their catalogue combined.

Later success

Originally recorded and released in 1988, the song's success was initially limited mostly to the United Kingdom and Australia. Later in 1993, it was included as one of the main themes of the 1993 American romantic comedy film Benny & Joon starring Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson; subsequently, due to its exposure during the film, "I'm Gonna Be " reached the top 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart during the summer of that year.
The song was also used during Matthew's flash mob proposal to April in "Readiness Is All", the ninth season episode of ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Charlie and Craig Reid, except where noted.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Canada Top Singles 47
Canada Adult Contemporary 92
US Billboard Hot 10027

Certifications

Comic Relief version

In 2007, the Proclaimers re-recorded the song with Peter Kay and Matt Lucas as their characters Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights and Andy Pipkin from Little Britain respectively. There is a slight change in the title of the song, with the parentheses placed around "" rather than "". The lyrics also include a change, with the words "roll 500 miles" replacing "walk 500 miles", because the characters Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin are both in wheelchairs. " 500 Miles" was released as a charity single for Comic Relief immediately following its performance on the Comic Relief 2007: The Big One television show on BBC1 on 16 March 2007. It reached number 3 on the official UK Singles Chart on download sales alone, and one week later reached number 1, where it remained for three weeks. It sold 126,000 copies in its first week, making it the biggest selling number one of the year up to that point. Its sales were double that of the official Comic Relief single by Girls Aloud vs. Sugababes, and their cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". The song ended 2007 as the year's 8th biggest-selling single in the UK. The song was popular in Ireland as well, and peaked at #7 in Irish Singles Chart.
Kay also directed a video clip of the song featuring himself as Brian Potter, Lucas as Andy, David Walliams as Lou, The Proclaimers and an audience of celebrity guests, comprising Johnny Ball, David Beckham, David Bellamy, Dusty Bin, Tony Blackburn, Stan Boardman, Basil Brush, Bob the Builder, Holly Willoughby, Bucks Fizz, Cannon and Ball, Bob Carolgees & Spit the Dog, Jasper Carrott, Keith Chegwin, Jimmy Cricket, Tess Daly, Bobby Davro, Carol Decker, Sally Dynevor, Lesley Garrett, Andy Gray, Clare Grogan, Paul Henry, Frazer Hines, Siobhan Redmond, Elton John, The Krankies, Burt Kwouk, Bonnie Langford, Eddie Large, Michael Le Vell, Limahl, Kenny Lynch, Des Lynam, Timmy Mallett, Jennie McAlpine, Bill Oddie, Paul O'Grady, Postman Pat, Wendi Peters, Robert Powell, Rod, Jane and Freddy, Rupert the Bear, Showaddywaddy, Status Quo, Frank Sidebottom, Sonia, Dennis Taylor, David Tennant, Willie Thorne, Kate Thornton, Dave Lee Travis, Martin Tyler, Roy Walker, Louis Walsh, Pete Waterman, Elton Welsby, June Whitfield, Gary Wilmot, and Bob Wilson.
Osama bin Laden, Lord Lucan and Shergar are also falsely credited as appearing in the video.

Track listing

  1. " 500 Miles" – 3:41
  2. " 500 Miles" – 3:39
The enhanced CD and DVD also featured the promotional video for the song and a photo gallery.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications