"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. History The song is generally credited as being written by Hedy West, and a 1961 copyright is held by Atzal Music, Inc. "500 Miles" is West's "most anthologized song". Some recordings have also credited Curly Williams, or John Phillips as co-writers, although Phillips admitted he had only rearranged it and "didn't deserve the credit". David Neale writes that "500 Miles" may be related to the older folk song "900 Miles" (Roud 4959), which may itself have origins in the Southern American fiddle tunes "Reuben's Train" and "Train 45". Johnny Cash is known to have included "500 Miles" on his list of 100 essential country songs in the early 1970s. Bobby Bare version The most commercially successful version of the song was Bobby Bare's in 1963. His version became a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as a Top 5 hit on both the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. Chart history Weekly charts Year-end charts Other cover versions The song appears on the 1961 eponymous debut album by The Journeymen; 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 and Mary, who included the song on their debut album in May 1962. American country music singer Bobby Bare recorded a version with new lyrics, which became a hit single in 1963. Dick and Dee Dee released a version of the song on their 1964 album, Turn Around. The song was covered by Sonny & Cher on their 1965 album Look at Us. This version was played over the credits of the 1966 BBC TV film Cathy Come Home. The lyrics feature heavily in the Bob Dylan song "I Was Young When I Left Home." Bluegrass versions were recorded by The Country Gentlemen on their album 25 Years and The Seldom Scene on their album Act I. The Hooters recorded a version of this song with additional lyrics, dedicated to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Peter, Paul and Mary provided background