I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) - wikipedia I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' Single by The Proclaimers from the album Sunshine on Leith Released August 1988 ( UK ) June 1993 ( US ) 2000 ( re-release ) Format 7 '' 12 '' CD single Recorded 1988, Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire Genre Celtic rock folk rock college rock alternative rock Length 3 : 37 Label Chrysalis Songwriter ( s ) Charlie Reid Craig Reid Producer ( s ) Pete Wingfield The Proclaimers singles chronology `` Make My Heart Fly '' ( 1987 ) `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' ( 1988 ) `` Sunshine on Leith '' ( 1988 ) `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' is a song written and performed by Scottish duo The Proclaimers, and first released as the lead single from their 1988 album Sunshine on Leith. The song reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart on its initial release, and it has since become their most popular song worldwide, initially becoming a number 1 hit in Iceland, before reaching number 1 in both Australia and New Zealand in early 1990. In 1993, following its appearance in the American film Benny & Joon, the song was released in North America and many other countries around the world, it reached the top five on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100 charts. In 2007, the Proclaimers re-recorded the song with English comedians Peter Kay and Matt Lucas for the UK 's Comic Relief charity telethon, scoring a number one hit in the UK, outperforming their original UK singles performance. `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' has become a live staple at the Proclaimers ' concerts. The duo played it at Edinburgh 50,000 -- The Final Push at Murrayfield Stadium on 6 July 2005, the final concert of Live 8, to symbolise the conclusion of `` The Long Walk to Justice ''. Contents 1 Background 2 Track listing 3 Charts and certifications 3.1 Weekly charts 3.2 Year - end charts 3.3 Certifications 4 Comic Relief version 4.1 Track listing 4.2 Charts and certifications 4.2. 1 Weekly charts 4.2. 2 Year - end charts 4.2. 3 Certifications 5 Popular culture 6 References 7 External links Background The song was mainly written by Craig Reid in mid-1987 while waiting to travel to a Proclaimers concert in Aberdeen. Reid recalled, `` I can remember sitting at the piano and the chords just came to me. I reckon I wrote the whole thing in 45 minutes. I knew that it was a good song, maybe even a single, but I had no idea how popular it would become. '' Reid has said that the band 's earnings from the song are about five times the rest of their catalogue combined. Track listing All tracks written and composed by Charlie and Craig Reid, except where noted. 7 '' single `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' -- 3 : 37 `` Better Days '' -- 3 : 14 12 '' single `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' -- 3 : 37 `` Better Days '' -- 3 : 14 `` Teardrops '' -- 2 : 33 CD single `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' -- 3 : 37 `` Better Days '' -- 3 : 14 `` Teardrops '' -- 2 : 33 `` I Ca n't Be Myself '' ( Merle Haggard ) -- 2 : 30 Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart ( 1988 -- 1990 ) Peak position Australia ( ARIA ) Iceland ( Tonlist ) Ireland ( IRMA ) 14 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 11 Chart ( 1993 ) Peak position Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 5 Belgium ( Ultratop 50 Flanders ) 42 Canada ( RPM ) Germany ( Official German Charts ) 40 Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) 36 US Billboard Hot 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1989 ) Position Australia ( ARIA ) New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 6 Chart ( 1993 ) Position Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 47 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) Gold 400,000 United States ( RIAA ) Gold 800,000 sales + streaming figures based on certification alone Comic Relief version `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' Single by The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter & Andy Pipkin Released 17 March 2007 Format digital download CD single DVD single Recorded 1988, 2007 Genre Celtic rock folk pop college rock Length 3 : 41 Label EMI Songwriter ( s ) Charlie Reid Craig Reid The Proclaimers singles chronology `` Restless Soul '' ( 2005 ) `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' ( 2007 ) `` Life with You '' ( 2007 ) Peter Kay singles chronology `` ( Is This The Way To ) Amarillo '' ( 2005 ) ( Is This The Way To ) Amarillo 2005 `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' ( 2007 ) ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles2007 `` The Winner 's Song '' ( 2008 ) The Winner 's Song 2008 Comic Relief singles chronology `` Walk This Way '' Girls Aloud vs. Sugababes ( 2007 ) Walk This Way 2007 `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter & Andy Pipkin ( 2007 ) ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles2007 `` Just Ca n't Get Enough '' The Saturdays ( 2009 ) Just Ca n't Get Enough 2009 In 2007, the Proclaimers re-recorded the song with Peter Kay and Matt Lucas as their characters Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights and Andy Pipkin from Little Britain respectively. There is a slight change in the title of the song, with the parentheses placed around `` I 'm Gonna Be '' rather than `` 500 Miles ''. The lyrics also include a change, with the words `` roll 500 miles '' replacing `` walk 500 miles '', because the characters Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin are both in wheelchairs. `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' was released as a charity single for Comic Relief immediately following its performance on the Comic Relief 2007 : The Big One television show on BBC1 on 16 March 2007. It reached number 3 on the official UK Singles Chart on download sales alone, and one week later reached number 1, where it remained for three weeks. It sold 126,000 copies in its first week, making it the biggest selling number one of the year up to that point. Its sales were double that of the official Comic Relief single by Girls Aloud vs. Sugababes, and their cover of Aerosmith 's `` Walk This Way ''. The song ended 2007 as the year 's 8th biggest - selling single in the UK. The song was popular in Ireland as well, and peaked at # 7 in Irish Singles Chart. Kay also directed a video clip of the song featuring himself as Brian Potter, Lucas as Andy, David Walliams as Lou, The Proclaimers and an audience of celebrity guests, comprising Johnny Ball, David Beckham, David Bellamy, Dusty Bin, Tony Blackburn, Stan Boardman, Basil Brush, Bob the Builder, Bucks Fizz, Cannon and Ball, Bob Carolgees & Spit the Dog, Jasper Carrott, Keith Chegwin, Jimmy Cricket, Tess Daly, Bobby Davro ( referred to in the lyrics ), Carol Decker, Sally Dynevor, Lesley Garrett, Andy Gray, Clare Grogan, Paul Henry, Frazer Hines, Siobhan Redmond ( credited as `` Her off Holby City '' ), Elton John, The Krankies, Burt Kwouk, Bonnie Langford, Eddie Large, Michael Le Vell, Limahl, Kenny Lynch, Des Lynam, Timmy Mallett, Jennie McAlpine, Bill Oddie, Paul O'Grady, Postman Pat, Wendi Peters, Robert Powell, Rod, Jane and Freddy, Rupert the Bear, Showaddywaddy, Status Quo, Frank Sidebottom, Sonia, Dennis Taylor, David Tennant, Willie Thorne, Kate Thornton, Dave Lee Travis, Martin Tyler, Roy Walker, Louis Walsh, Pete Waterman, Elton Welsby, June Whitfield, Gary Wilmot and Bob Wilson. Osama bin Laden ( then still a fugitive terrorist ), Lord Lucan ( missing since 1974 ) and Shergar ( a kidnapped race horse ) are also falsely credited as appearing in the video. Track listing CD single `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' -- 3 : 41 `` ( I 'm Gonna Be ) 500 Miles '' ( 1988 Original Version ) -- 3 : 39 The enhanced CD and DVD also featured the promotional video for the song and a photo gallery. Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart ( 2007 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 7 Scotland ( Official Charts Company ) UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) Year - end charts Chart ( 2007 ) Position United Kingdom ( Official Charts Company ) 8 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) Silver 200,000 shipments figures based on certification alone Popular culture Originally recorded and released in 1988, the song was first a success only in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, later in 1993, it was included as one of the main themes of the 1993 American romantic comedy film Benny & Joon starring Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson ; subsequently, due to its exposure during the film, `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' reached the top 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart during the summer of that year. The song is often played in the warm up before the Scotland football team matches when playing at home at Hampden Park in Glasgow, and again when the team scores. The same is true for the Scottish Rugby team at Murrayfield Stadium although since 2013 a mashup version of the song mixed with David Guetta 's `` Titanium '' and Midnight Oil 's `` Beds Are Burning '' has been used as well. The song is also often played at Easter Road before Scottish Premiership side Hibernian 's home matches. Scottish darts player Robert Thornton uses the song as his walk - on song. As part of what has become a now legendary performance, Phish covered this song at their Madison Square Garden concert in the middle of a fantastic narration that Trey Anastasio told in the middle of the song Harpua on 30 Dec 1997. Tom Marshall sang the vocals. In 2007, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song, with minor lyric changes, for their video game Alvin and the Chipmunks. At the end of the fourth series of the new Doctor Who, a video of the cast and crew of the show ( as well as The Proclaimers themselves ) singing and dancing along to the song was released, as a farewell to David Tennant, Russell T Davies, and other key players in the show 's development ; hailing the shift into the Steven Moffat era of the show. The song was also very popular in Spain in the late 1990s thanks to TV advertisements. It was a reference song for the ads of Retevisión, one of the first private telecommunications companies in Spain. The song is also featured on the How I Met Your Mother episode `` Arrivederci, Fiero '', in which it is revealed that the character Marshall has had a cassette tape with the song on it stuck in his car for years. Commentary on the song 's unlimited replay value follows. It remained a running gag for the rest of the series. This song is also featured on the Grey 's Anatomy episode in season 9 `` Readiness is All '' when Matthew proposes to April in a surprise flash mob to this song. At the closing ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, after the Commonwealth Games Federation flag was handed over to Lord Smith of Kelvin, representative of the next Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, 350 performers from Scotland perform in a 10 - minute segment displaying Scottish culture. The performance ended with the inflatable structure morphing into the Loch Ness Monster and the cast then exited the stadium to the tune of `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. The song is featured in the movies Bachelorette, Identity Thief, Benny & Joon, Ice Age : The Meltdown, Burke and Hare, Sunshine on Leith, and Peter Rabbit. It is also featured in the movie The Angels ' Share directed by Ken Loach, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. A cover of the song was recorded by Down by Law on their album Punkrockacademyfightsong. The song is sung in the television series The Cafe by Ralf Little and cast to close out the final episode of season one, `` Deal or No Deal ''. The song is also sung in the 2014 Australian film 500 Miles by the lead actor Pete Valley to the lead actress Ebony Nave in a quite iconic scene that is set in a small country town pub. In 2014, Imagine Dragons performed a live cover of the song at the T in the Park music festival in Scotland. A YouTube video of the performance has more than 6.6 million views as of October 2018. In 2015, Budweiser 's Super Bowl ad features a cover version of this song by Sleeping at Last. In the same year it also laid the basis for song `` Magna Carta 800 Years '', which was a tribute to Magna Carta in the rebooted version of Horrible Histories. This song appears in a commercial for Lunchables as a promotion for their new product, `` kabobbles ''. The song appeared in the fourth episode of Hindsight. The song appears in commercials for the 2015 Volkswagen Golf and 2017 Ford Edge. References Jump up ^ `` The Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. Discogs. Retrieved 19 June 2017. ^ Jump up to : Simpson, Dave ( 10 August 2015 ). `` The Proclaimers : how we made I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) - The Proclaimers ''. toponehitwonders.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016. Jump up ^ Thrills, Adrian ( 23 March 2007 ). `` What a Relief ! It 's No. 1 at Last ''. The Daily Mail. London, England : Daily Mail and General Trust. Jump up ^ `` Australian-charts.com -- The Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Tonlist Top 10 ''. DV. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 17. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- I 'm Gonna Be ''. Irish Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Charts.nz -- The Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. Top 40 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- The Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- The Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratop 50. Jump up ^ `` RPM Top Singles, August 28, 1993 ''. RPM, Vol. 58 No. 7. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 January 2015. Jump up ^ `` Musicline.de -- The Proclaimers Single - Chartverfolgung '' ( in German ). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Jump up ^ `` Swisscharts.com -- The Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. Swiss Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` The Proclaimers Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1989 ''. Jump up ^ `` The Official New Zealand Music Chart ''. Jump up ^ `` RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1993 ''. RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) in the `` Search BPI Awards '' field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` American single certifications -- Proclaimers -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. Jump up ^ `` Best - Selling Records of 1993 ''. Billboard. BPI Communications. 106 ( 3 ) : 73. 15 January 1994. ISSN 0006 - 2510. Retrieved 4 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Stars unite for Comic Relief show ''. BBC News. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2015. Jump up ^ `` Singles -- 31.03. 07 : The Proclaimers ''. Music Week. London, England : UBM. 31 March 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` The 2007 Official Singles Chart ''. Music Week. London, England : UBM : 11. 12 January 2008. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. Irish Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- Proclaimers ft Brian Potter & Andy Pipkin -- I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ''. British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) in the `` Search BPI Awards '' field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` Benny & Joon ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ) Rachel Portman ''. itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pitch Perfect Guetta - Titanium vs. Proclaimers - 500 miles vs. Midnight Oil - Beds r burning ''. Jump up ^ `` Coral Masters darts tournament comes to Ingliston ''. Edinburgh News. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Dec 30, 1997 Setlist - Phish.net ''. Phish Net. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018. Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c6qENWh2jQ Jump up ^ Freemancos ( 28 August 2007 ). `` Retevision - Spot telefono a las estrellas '' -- via YouTube. Jump up ^ `` Glasgow calling after Delhis Perfect 10 - Indian Express ''. archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Imagine Dragons - I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) live at T in the Park 2014 ''. YouTube. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Video on YouTube The Proclaimers Studio albums This Is the Story Sunshine on Leith Hit the Highway Persevere Born Innocent Restless Soul Life with You Notes & Rhymes Like Comedy Compilations The Best of The Proclaimers Finest Singles `` Letter from America '' `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' `` I 'm on My Way '' `` King of the Road '' `` Whole Wide World '' Related articles Sunshine on Leith ( musical ) Sunshine on Leith ( film ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27m_Gonna_Be_(500_Miles)&oldid=864930520 '' Categories : 1988 singles 1993 singles 2007 singles Number - one singles in Australia Number - one singles in Scotland UK Singles Chart number - one singles The Proclaimers songs Chrysalis Records singles EMI Records singles Football songs and chants Comic Relief singles Songs written for films 1988 songs Song recordings produced by Pete Wingfield Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Australia Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for UK Singlechart usages for Austria Singlechart usages for Belgium ( Flanders ) Singlechart used with missing parameters Singlechart usages for Germany Singlechart usages for Switzerland Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Certification Table Entry usages for United States Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Singlechart usages for Scotland All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015 Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2018 All articles containing potentially dated statements Use dmy dates from June 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara Français Nederlands Português Svenska ไทย 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 20 October 2018, at 14 : 37 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who sings if i could walk 500 miles
Answer: The Proclaimers