This is the third article here from the Inside Llewyn Davis movie. It was a song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics reflect a traveller who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return. The song is credited as being written by Hedy West which was her most famous song and who belonged to the same revivalists as Joan Baez and Judy Collins. Johnny Cash is known to have included “500 Miles” on his list of 100 essential country songs in the early 1970s.
It’s interesting to watch the making of documentary of Inside Llewyn Davis and hear the Coen brothers’ thoughts about Justin Timberlake’s involvement in the music. They were impressed to say the least.
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
The pre-Bob Dylan music folk-era in the early 1960’s is not pretty. The people weren’t always the most fetching and nicest people. As John Goodman says in his character as Rolland Turner:
‘In Jazz you know, we play all the notes,
Twelve notes in scales, dipshit!
Not 3 chords on a ukulele‘
I loved this movie. We bought the album and have listened to it many times.
It’s tough to watch because of what Llewyn has to bear. But as the Coen’s said, ‘It’s more interesting for me as an audience member to see a movie about a loser’. It’s a great soundtrack. Thank you for commenting.