Song: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) Artist: The Proclaimers Year: 1988 Album: Debut Album Sunshine on Leith, Benny & Joon, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1993) Language Feature: adjective clauses with who
Episode Description
Are you a person who loves learning English? We know you must be someone who loves English grammar as much as we do. And, speaking of love, English as a Singing Language has a love song for this episode - just in time for Valentine’s Day!💗
Episode 12 features the 1988 song, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), by the Scottish duo, The Proclaimers. We’re going to discuss love, grammar, and Scottish English. We think you’re gonna love it!
Episode Transcript
<intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece.
H: And I’m Heather.
E: We’re your hosts for the musical, language-learning podcast, English as a Singing Language.
H: That’s right! So, Ece, what decade does the song for this episode come from?
E: This song is from the 1980s...and it’s a song by a Scottish band.
H: Wow! That’s so exciting. I love learning about different kinds of English. And what will be the language focus for this episode?
E: We’re going to be talking about adjective clauses. You know, clauses that are used to describe a person or a thing to give more information about them.
H: Ok. It sounds like this is going to be an episode that is useful and fun for everyone.
E: I know. I can’t wait.
H: Me neither.
E: Let’s get started.
<end intro>
H: (humming The Proclaimers, 500 Miles). Oh! Ece! What are you doing here at the supermarket? Are you...shopping for chocolate?
E: I am. You know I am a person who loves to eat chocolate.
H: I do know that. I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here.
E: Well, you know Valentine's Day is coming up soon. Here in the US, we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th.
H: That’s why I’m here, too. I want to get chocolate for everyone for Valentine’s Day.
E: Me too! And, by the way, what was the song you were humming just now? It’s a good song for a romantic day like Valentine’s Day, right?
H: It is. It’s the 1988 song, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” by the Scottish duo, The Proclaimers. It’s a song from their first album, Sunshine on Leith. It didn’t become popular in the US until 1993, when it was featured on the Benny and Joon movie soundtrack.
E: Oh! That’s a great song. And The Proclaimers, they’re brothers, aren’t they?
H: Yes! There are two members of The Proclaimers, twin brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid.
E: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) is a cute, romantic song, isn’t it?
H: It is. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day. It’s all about how the singer would be willing to walk 500 miles to be with the person they love.
E: That is sweet.
H: And in an interview with the Guardian, the brothers were asked how far they had actually ever walked before.
E: Oh yeah? And what did they say?
H: Well, Craig Reid said, “Probably about 15 miles. I’ve never met anyone I’d walk 500 miles for.”
E: Ok, and what did his brother, Charlie, say?
H: He said, “The song “(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles” is a devotional thing about how far you’d walk for a woman’s love. I’ve walked eight or nine, but up a Scottish hillside, so a lot of vertical miles.”
E: Haha. I guess you do have to consider the difficulty of the walk and not just the distance.
H: Definitely. So, the grammar in this song is really useful, right?
E: It is. The sentence structure used in the lyrics is for when two events happen in relation to each other. For example, they sing, “When I wake up, I know I’m gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.”
H: So, he wakes up, and he is going to or, he’s gonna, there’s a good example of the reduced pronunciation of “is going to” becoming “gonna” that we have seen in other songs. He’s gonna be next to the person he loves.
E: That’s really cute. And that is a useful sentence structure. I could say, for example, “When I go to the supermarket, I’m gonna buy a lot of chocolate.”
H: That’s a great example. Or I could say, “When I see my friends, I’m gonna give them lots of chocolate.”
E: Exactly! What else do they sing about?
H: The next line is, “When I go out, I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.” And, “to go along with” someone means to go with them somewhere or travel with them.
E: And then they sing, “When I get drunk, I know I’m gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you.”
H: And then, “When I haver, I know I’m gonna be the man who’s havering to you.”
E: Wait, what? Havering? What does, “havering,” mean?
H: I didn’t know that word, either. It’s a word in Scottish English that means, “to talk foolishly.” I’m going to start using that word! I feel like I’m havering all the time.
E: I think all the havering we do makes the podcast fun!
H: Me too! Well, let’s talk about the rest of the verses before we get to the refrain.
E: That sounds good. And do you know what else I’ve noticed about the grammar of the verses?
H: Are you talking about the use of relative clauses with who?
E: Yes! The singer is describing himself, and he’s using an adjective clause with “who.”
H: Cool. Let’s see how this is used in the second verse.
E: Okay. The next verse starts, “When I'm working, I know I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you.”
H: So, in his description of himself, of what kind of man he is going to be for his partner, he uses an adjective clause that starts with “who,” right?
E: Exactly! So, I can say, “I’m a podcaster who loves singing and music.”
H: You are! And I can say, “I’m a teacher who enjoys giving tests.”
E: Is that true?
H: Haha. We’ll have to ask my students.
E: Back to the lyrics, let’s see what else he is gonna do. He sings, “And when the money comes in for the work I do, I'll pass almost every penny on to you.”
H: Haha. I love that he says, “almost every penny.” He’s like, “I mean I love you, but I’m keeping some cash for myself.”
E: There are limits to love, I guess.
H: I guess so. But then he sings, “When I come home, well, I know I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you.”
E: And the last part of the verse is especially nice. He sings, “And when I grow old, well, I know I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you.”
H: Oh, that’s really lovely. And in the next verse, he sings, “When I'm lonely, well I know I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you.” I definitely feel like I’m a person who is lonely without the people I care about.
E: Me too. And then he sings, “And when I'm dreaming, well, I know I'm gonna dream about the time when I'm with you.” I know that when I’m away from the people I care about, I’m always gonna dream about them.
H: Ece, this is a great song to describe how we feel about people we love. And how about the refrain? There’s some useful grammar in the refrain, too.
E: There is. In the refrain, they use the modal verb, “would” to describe the things that they are willing to do.
H: Hmmmm... so, does that mean that they are going to do what they say they would do?
E: Not necessarily. For example, I might say, “Wow! Heather, those boots that you’re wearing are so cute! I would pay $1,000 for a pair of boots like that.”
H: They are very comfortable, but I wouldn’t pay $1,000 for them.
E: Haha, that’s right. And I wouldn’t either, but I use “would” to emphasize my feelings and show you how strongly I feel about those boots.
H: Or if I said, “Oh my gosh, I would die if I had to sing in front of a room full of people.”
E: Right. I don’t think you would actually die. I hope not! You would just feel extremely nervous. But you’re using “would” to show the intensity of your feelings about singing in public.
H: Ok, so what is the singer willing to do for this person whom he loves?
E: He sings, “And I would walk 500 miles, And I would walk 500 more, Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door.”
H: So, he’s not really going to walk 1,000 miles, is he?
E: Remember the quotes from the beginning of the episode? I don’t think either of the singers would actually be willing to walk 1,000 miles.
H: No, I don’t think they would. But do you know what, Ece? I would walk 1,000 miles just to record an episode of English as a Singing Language with you.
E: You know what, Heather? I would, too... but I’m glad we don’t have to!
H: Me too. And there’s just one more thing I’d like to point out about this song.
E: Does it have to do with the Scottish English?
H: Aye, it does. In addition to some vocabulary words like, “havering,” there are also some pronunciation differences between the variety of English that is spoken in the northeast of the United States, and the Scottish English in the song.
E: The one that I really hear in this song is the vowel sound that is usually written “ou.”
H: Me too. So for example, you and I would say, “out” and “thousand” and in Scottish English, in the song, it sounds more like, [out] and [thousand]. Sorry, that’s my imitation of a Scottish accent.
E: The other vowel sound that I notice is the “oo” vowel. You and I would say, “you” and “do,” for example.
H: And in Scottish English it sounds more like, [you] and [do]. It’s so cool how many different kinds of English there are.
E: I agree. We could go on and on about the different types of English, but our listeners might get tired of our havering, so I think it’s time to sing.
H: Aye! I think we’re definitely ready to sing! “I would walk 500 miles...”
E: “...and I would walk 500 more.”
H + E: “just to be the ones to sing this song with you.”
H: There’s a link to the YouTube video for the Proclaimers 1988 song, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” in the episode notes.
E: Make sure you sing out loud as you listen!
H: And pay attention to all of the useful grammar!
<conclusion>
E: This was a great song for Valentine’s Day!
H: It sure was! It was full of ways to express how much you care about someone and what you’re willing to do for them! And, Ece, I notice that your shopping cart is full of chocolate hearts and candies!
E: I would buy all of the chocolate in the store for my loved ones!
H: But that would be a little too much!
E: Right. But don’t worry, there’s one for you in here!
H: Whew! Well, I hope all our listeners enjoyed this episode of, “English as a Singing Language.”
E: Me too! And don’t forget to check out the Singing Languages website for more resources like a transcript for all of the episodes and extra listening activities to do.
H: Be sure to like the podcast and to follow us @singinglanguages on Instagram.
E: Until next time, have fun and...
H+E: ...just keep singing!!
Quote: (Guardian Article) https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/sep/01/the-proclaimers-if-youre-going-to-propose-at-our-gig-make-sure-youre-sober-enough-to-get-in
Official YouTube Video
Listening Activity
Directions: Complete the lyrics with the missing adjective clauses.
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________ When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________ When I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________ And when I haver, hey I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________
And I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man __________________________________________ To fall down at your door
When I'm working, yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________ And when the money, comes in for the work I do I'll pass almost every penny on to you When I come home (When I come home), well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________. And when I grow old, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________.
But I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man __________________________________________ To fall down at your door
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
When I'm lonely, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________ And when I'm dreaming, well I know I'm gonna dream I'm gonna Dream about the time when I'm with you When I go out (When I go out), well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man__________________________________________ And when I come home (When I come home), yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________ I'm gonna be the man __________________________________________
And I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man __________________________________________
To fall down at your door
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
And I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man __________________________________________ To fall down at your door
(havering = to talk foolishly)
Complete Lyrics
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you When I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you And when I haver, hey I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you (havering = to talk foolishly)
And I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles To fall down at your door
When I'm working, yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you And when the money, comes in for the work I do I'll pass almost every penny on to you When I come home (When I come home), well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you. And when I grow old, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you.
But I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles To fall down at your door
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
When I'm lonely, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you And when I'm dreaming, well I know I'm gonna dream I'm gonna Dream about the time when I'm with you When I go out (When I go out), well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you And when I come home (When I come home), yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who comes back home with you I'm gonna be the man who's coming home with you
And I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da da da (da da da) Da da da (da da da)
Da Da Da Dun Diddle Un Diddle Un Diddle Uh Da Da
And I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles To fall down at your door
Songwriters: Craig Morris Reid / Charles Stobo Reid I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) lyrics © Zoo Music Ltd.
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