I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: E | E :||
Verse 1
| E | E |
When I wake up, well I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.
| E | E |
When I go out, yeah I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.
| E | E |
If I get drunk, well I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you.
| E | E |
And if I haver, hey I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who’s havering to you.
Chorus 1
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
But I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.
Verse 2
| E | E |
When I’m working, yes I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who’s working hard for you.
| E | E |
And when the money, comes in for the work I do,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’ll pass almost every penny on to you.
| E | E |
When I come home (when I come home), oh I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who comes back home to you.
| E | E |
And if I grow old, well I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who’s growing old with you.
Chorus 2
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
But I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door.
Chorus tag 1
||: E | E |
||: Da-da da da (da-da da da). Da-da da da (da-da da da).
| A B | E :||
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle un da-da :||
Instrumental
| E | E |
Verse 3
| E | E |
When I’m lonely, well I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who’s lonely without you.
| E | E |
And when I’m dreaming, well I know I’m gonna dream,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna dream about the time when I’m with you.
| E | E |
When I go out (when I go out), well I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | E |
I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.
| E | E |
And when I come home (when I come home), yes I know I’m gonna be,
| A5 B5 | C#m |
I’m gonna be the man who comes back home with you.
| A B | 2/4 B | 4/4 E | E |
I’m gonna be the man who’s coming home, with you.
Chorus 3
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
But I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door.
Chorus tag 2
||: E | E |
||: Da-da da da (da-da da da). Da-da da da (da-da da da).
| A B | E :|| x4
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle un da-da :|| x4
Chorus 4
| E | E | A5 | B5 |
And I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.
| E | E | A5 | B5 | E | E |
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.
500 Miles chords and progressions
It’s easy to just dismiss 500 Miles as just a simple I – IV – V song in E.
I feel there’s a very important lesson here, a great introduction to the concept of playing simple things well which is grounded in attention to detail and subtle variation.
For example, when do you play power chords, and when do you play the triad? How do you break up the strumming for the E chord so it sounds powerful but not boring?
Members get a full analysis of everything that makes this a hit, including the exact TAB for how to play it on the acoustic on your own, and the electric guitar in a band.
Once you got the concept down, just seeing the verse chords I – IV – V – I, with IV – V sharing a bar like this:
||: E | E | A5 B5 | E :||
And then the chorus chords have the variation that they get a bar each will be enough to jog your memory.
||: E | E | A5 | B5 :||
Apart from these two sections, you also need to remember that in verse 3, we go:
| A5 B5 | C#m |
| A B | 2/4 B | 4/4 E | E |
Here’s a link to the complete lesson (members only): I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) chord analysis and TAB.
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all step-by-step guitar courses, TAB for the songbook, the Self-Eliminating Practice Routine, and the eBook Spytunes Method.
A 500 Miles parody became a bigger hit than the original!
Initially released as a single from the album Sunshine On Leith (1988), I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) only reached #11 in the U.K. charts.
It was actually a bigger hit in Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland(!) where it got to the top. Five years later, after being featured in the movie Benny & Joon, it reached #3 in the U.S. charts.
In 2007, English comedian Peter Kay recorded a parody version for the yearly charity event Comic Relief and now reached #1 in the U.K. Total worldwide sales eclipsed 2 million worldwide.
Apparently, The Proclaimers’ royalty earnings from 500 Miles are five times the rest of their catalog combined. If that’s not a signature song, I don’t know what is!
With all this individual chart success, I still believe it’s the working bands all over the world playing this every Saturday that is the main reason for its longevity.
And the reason it’s played by working bands is the audience participation section when everyone can scream: Da-da da da!
500 Miles chords | Related pages
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This collection of beginner acoustic tunes will teach you how to arrange for one acoustic guitar, as well as how to create a supporting part.
Playing songs will help you with switching between open-position chords and give you the context you need to understand how music works theoretically.
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The Proclaimers
Formed in 1983, Scottish twins The Proclaimers had their debut album, This Is the Story by 1987.
Best-known tunes include Letter from America, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), and covers of Get Ready and These Arms Of Mine.
The Proclaimers on the web
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Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
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