Five Hundred Miles – English Lyrics

• By: Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, Stark Sands
• Album: Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the heart of American folk music with 'Five Hundred Miles.' This timeless ballad, with its simple yet powerful lyrics, offers a window into a traveler's soul, expressing universal feelings of longing and displacement. Learning the song in its original English is a wonderful way to connect with the storytelling traditions of the folk revival. Its repetitive structure and clear emotional core make it an accessible and moving piece for language learners to explore.

[English]

If you miss the train I'm on

You will know that I am gone

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

A hundred miles, a hundred miles

A hundred miles, a hundred miles

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two

Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four

Lord, I'm five hundred miles a way from home

Away from home, away from home

Away from home, away from home

Lord, I'm five hundred miles away from home

...

Not a shirt on my back

Not a penny to my name

Lord, I can't go back home this-a way

This-a way, this-a way

This-a way, this-a way

Lord, I can't go back home this-a way

If you miss the train I'm on

You will know that I am gone

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

A hundred miles, a hundred miles

A hundred miles, a hundred miles

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
miss /mɪs/ A2	verb - to feel sadness at the absence of someone or something. verb - to fail to hit, reach, or come into contact with (something aimed at).
train /treɪn/ A1	noun - a series of connected railway carriages moved by a locomotive or by integral motors.
gone /ɡɒn/ A2	adjective - having departed or disappeared.
hear /hɪər/ A1	verb - perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or something).
whistle /ˈwɪs(ə)l/ B1	noun - a clear, high-pitched sound made by forcing breath through a small hole between partly closed lips, or between one's teeth. verb - emit a clear, high-pitched sound by forcing breath through a small hole between one's lips or teeth.
blow /bləʊ/ A2	verb - (of wind) move creating an air current.
miles /maɪlz/ A1	noun - plural of mile, a unit of distance equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards (approximately 1.6 kilometers).
home /həʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.
away /əˈweɪ/ A1	adverb - to or at a distance from a particular place or person.
shirt /ʃɜːt/ A1	noun - a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist).
back /bæk/ A1	adverb - in the direction opposite to that in which one is facing or travelling; towards the place or point that one has left.
penny /ˈpɛni/ A1	noun - a monetary unit of various denominations.

Key Grammar Structures

• If you miss the train I'm on

  ➔ Conditional sentence with 'if' to indicate a possible future event

  ➔ 'If' introduces a condition that affects the main clause

• Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two

  ➔ Use of the contraction 'I'm' as a form of 'I am' for emphasis in spoken language

  ➔ 'I'm' is a contraction of 'I am', often used in informal speech to emphasize the subject

• Lord, I'm five hundred miles a way from home

  ➔ Use of numerical adjective 'five hundred' to specify distance

  ➔ 'Five hundred miles' is a specific quantity used as a measure of distance

• Not a shirt on my back

  ➔ Negative phrase with 'not' for emphasis on lacking possessions

  ➔ 'Not' is used here to negate the sentence, highlighting the lack of possessions

• You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

  ➔ Use of modal verb 'can' to express ability or possibility

  ➔ 'Can' indicates that the subject has the ability or possibility to hear the whistle

• You will know that I am gone

  ➔ Future simple tense with 'will' to express a future certainty

  ➔ 'Will' indicates a promise or certainty about what will happen in the future