About The Song
In September 1963 Bobby Bare released “500 Miles Away from Home” as a single on RCA Victor, with “It All Depends on Linda” on the B-side. Produced by Chet Atkins, the two-minute-and-thirty-five-second track served as the title song for his debut studio album of the same name, issued in December 1963. The recording came shortly after Bare’s breakthrough hit “Detroit City” and marked his second major crossover success as the twenty-eight-year-old Ohio native moved from behind-the-scenes songwriter to front-line country performer.
The melody came from a traditional folk tune long known as “500 Miles” or “Railroaders’ Lament.” Georgia folksinger Hedy West had arranged and recorded a modern version a few years earlier, drawing on family stories and the old Appalachian ballad tradition. Bare, working with friend and fellow songwriter Charlie Williams, added fresh lyrics that turned the wandering lament into a more personal story of homesickness. The pair shaped the piece during sessions that followed Bare’s first Grammy recognition, giving the old campfire song a countrypolitan polish while keeping its folk roots intact.
At its heart the song tells the story of a man far from home, riding the rails or hitchhiking through unfamiliar towns. He counts the miles, thinks of the family and sweetheart he left behind, and realizes how far he has drifted. The repeated chorus line “five hundred miles away from home” carries both literal distance and emotional weight, capturing the loneliness that many working men understood in the postwar years. Bare delivers the verses with a straightforward, conversational tone that lets the story unfold without melodrama.
His vocal style on the record blended the relaxed drawl he had developed in Texas clubs with the smoother production values of Nashville’s early 1960s sound. Atkins kept the arrangement clean, using acoustic guitar, light percussion, and subtle background vocals to support Bare’s lead without crowding it. The result felt intimate yet radio-ready, bridging the folk revival and mainstream country at a time when both scenes were influencing each other.
The single climbed steadily after its release. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and crossed over to peak at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Adult Contemporary chart it climbed to number four. The record spent more than three months on the national surveys and helped establish Bare as a consistent chart presence. The album itself peaked at number nine on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 133 on the Billboard 200.
Over the following decades “500 Miles Away from Home” remained a staple of Bare’s live shows and appeared on numerous compilations. It has been recorded by artists including Glen Campbell and various folk groups, but Bare’s version stayed the most commercially successful. The track captured a moment when country music was absorbing folk influences and when Bare was building the catalog that would later include narrative hits such as “Marie Laveau” and “Detroit City.”
More than sixty years after its release, “500 Miles Away from Home” stands as one of Bobby Bare’s signature early recordings. What began as an adaptation of an old folk melody became a lasting portrait of distance and longing that still resonates with listeners who have ever found themselves far from the places and people they knew best.
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Lyric
I’m 500 miles away from home
Teardrops fell on mama’s note
When I read the things she wrote
She said, “We miss you son, we love you, come on home”
Well, I didn’t have to pack
I had it all right on my back
Now I’m 500 miles away from home
Away from home, away from home
Cold and tired and all alone
Yes, I’m 500 miles away from home
I know this is the same road I took the day I left home
But it sure looks different now
Well, I guess I look different too
‘Cause time changes everything
I wonder what they’ll say
When they see their boy looking this way
Oh, I wonder what they’ll say when I get home
Can’t remember when I ate
It’s just thumb and walk and wait
And I’m still 500 miles away from home
If my luck had been just right
I’d be with them all tonight
But I’m still 500 miles away from home
Away from home, away from home
Cold and tired and all alone
Yes, I’m still 500 miles away from home
Ho, I’m still 500 miles away from home