When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be,
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next you
When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
If I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver up, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you
But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred 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 if I grow-old (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 five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred 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 dun diddle un diddle un diddle uh 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
But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
To fall down at your door
(Lots more da, dasfollow)
And I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next you
When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
If I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver up, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you
But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred 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 if I grow-old (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 five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred 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 dun diddle un diddle un diddle uh 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
But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
To fall down at your door
(Lots more da, dasfollow)
And I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door
My husband and I have two Songs. This and “Happy Together.” I don’t think its possible to listen to either one without smiling.
This song was written and originally performed by the duo called The Proclaimers, made up of Scottish twins Charlie and Craig Reid. They were born on 5 March 1962, making them a little over a year younger than me.
In 1987, Craig wrote the song in roughly 45 minutes. It was released as the lead single on their second album, Sunshine on Leith. The song made it to #11 on the UK charts, but soon hit it big with #1 ratings in Iceland, Australia, and New Zealand by 1990!
Then, in 1993, a movie called Benny & Joon came out. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. This was Johnny Depp at his best, before he turned into what he is now. It is what would be called a quirky rom-com. On the other hand, it deals with mental illness in ways which have brought it under fire for trivializing schizophrenia. So, there is that. (There is a musical version playing off-Broadway right now!!!!)
But, asides aside, the movie brought “I’m Gonna Be”back into the public’s awareness, and it took off, reaching the top 5 in the US and Canada. And this in spite of the fact that several US stations refused to play the song, believing (mistakenly) that the word “havering” was sexual. It is not. Havering is a Scottish term meaning babbling, or talking nonsense, the result of going out drinking.
In researching this, I found that since the song appeared in Benny and Joon, it has been in many a TV show, movie and cover. Imagine Dragons covered it live at a concert in Scotland in 2014. In their video game, Alvin and the Chipmunks cover the song. (Wait! Alvin and the Chipmunkshave a video game?!!?!) Budweiser used the song for their Super Bowl adin 2015.
One of my favorite versions is the one that the cast and crew of Doctor Who put together for David Tennant as he was leaving the title role.
In 2007, it was performed for Comic Reliefby two comedians who portray characters who are wheelchair-bound. (The actors are not themselves handicapped.) They slightly altered the lyrics to “I will roll 500 miles and I will roll 500 more.” To be honest, I found the video in rather poor taste, but The Proclaimerscame out and finished the song with them.
The Proclaimersare an unusual duo. They are endearing more than attractive, and very geeky-looking. They sing with a thick Scottish accent that makes their music a bit hard for some people to understand. They even have a song about it: “Throw the ‘R’ Away,”referring to the English way of not pronouncing r’s when the Scots tend to roll them. The following are just a sample of the lyrics:
I'm just going to have to learn to hesitate
To make sure my words on your Saxon ears don't grate
But I wouldn't know a single word to say
If I flattened all the vowels and I threw the "R" away
There are a lot of unusual references in this song. I love it! And turning “Saxon” into an insult is great!
The Reid brothers have said that they make more money from “I Wanna Be” than all the rest of their songs combined. And they are still recording, having put out a new album just last year. I suppose to some people they qualify as one-hit-wonders, but not to the people of Scotland. And they do not seem to have any negative feelings toward their biggest hit. Todd in the Shadows did a great review of The Proclaimersand their music.
What do you think of this duo and their hit? Have you heard any of their other songs? I’ll be playing this and some of their other songs on my Minnich Music Facebook page, so please be sure to check them out.
Until next time!
This song was written and originally performed by the duo called The Proclaimers, made up of Scottish twins Charlie and Craig Reid. They were born on 5 March 1962, making them a little over a year younger than me.
In 1987, Craig wrote the song in roughly 45 minutes. It was released as the lead single on their second album, Sunshine on Leith. The song made it to #11 on the UK charts, but soon hit it big with #1 ratings in Iceland, Australia, and New Zealand by 1990!
Then, in 1993, a movie called Benny & Joon came out. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. This was Johnny Depp at his best, before he turned into what he is now. It is what would be called a quirky rom-com. On the other hand, it deals with mental illness in ways which have brought it under fire for trivializing schizophrenia. So, there is that. (There is a musical version playing off-Broadway right now!!!!)
But, asides aside, the movie brought “I’m Gonna Be”back into the public’s awareness, and it took off, reaching the top 5 in the US and Canada. And this in spite of the fact that several US stations refused to play the song, believing (mistakenly) that the word “havering” was sexual. It is not. Havering is a Scottish term meaning babbling, or talking nonsense, the result of going out drinking.
In researching this, I found that since the song appeared in Benny and Joon, it has been in many a TV show, movie and cover. Imagine Dragons covered it live at a concert in Scotland in 2014. In their video game, Alvin and the Chipmunks cover the song. (Wait! Alvin and the Chipmunkshave a video game?!!?!) Budweiser used the song for their Super Bowl adin 2015.
One of my favorite versions is the one that the cast and crew of Doctor Who put together for David Tennant as he was leaving the title role.
In 2007, it was performed for Comic Reliefby two comedians who portray characters who are wheelchair-bound. (The actors are not themselves handicapped.) They slightly altered the lyrics to “I will roll 500 miles and I will roll 500 more.” To be honest, I found the video in rather poor taste, but The Proclaimerscame out and finished the song with them.
The Proclaimersare an unusual duo. They are endearing more than attractive, and very geeky-looking. They sing with a thick Scottish accent that makes their music a bit hard for some people to understand. They even have a song about it: “Throw the ‘R’ Away,”referring to the English way of not pronouncing r’s when the Scots tend to roll them. The following are just a sample of the lyrics:
I'm just going to have to learn to hesitate
To make sure my words on your Saxon ears don't grate
But I wouldn't know a single word to say
If I flattened all the vowels and I threw the "R" away
There are a lot of unusual references in this song. I love it! And turning “Saxon” into an insult is great!
The Reid brothers have said that they make more money from “I Wanna Be” than all the rest of their songs combined. And they are still recording, having put out a new album just last year. I suppose to some people they qualify as one-hit-wonders, but not to the people of Scotland. And they do not seem to have any negative feelings toward their biggest hit. Todd in the Shadows did a great review of The Proclaimersand their music.
What do you think of this duo and their hit? Have you heard any of their other songs? I’ll be playing this and some of their other songs on my Minnich Music Facebook page, so please be sure to check them out.
Until next time!
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