Old Songs

In the Westlake Retirement Community Center, a group of senior citizens gathered regularly to share stories from their past. One day, they were focused on their favorite songs from their teen years in the 1950s. For most of them, that meant radio favorites like "Rock Around the Clock" and "Hound Dog".

Two of the members, Ron Clark and Ida Mae Lee, enjoyed listening at the gatherings, but rarely contributed. When asked directly by Bill Davis, however, about his favorite song from back then, Ron said, “Well, my family never had a radio and, not being very popular, I didn’t go to any dances. But there was one song that’s always stuck in my mind. I don’t remember all of it, but I do recall some of the words.”

He began quietly singing.

“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
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles”

“Sounds vaguely familiar,” said Bill. “What’s the name of that song?”

“Don’t know,” said Ron. “I’m thinking it was called A Hundred Miles.”

“No, that’s not the name,” spoke an unfamiliar voice.

Every head turned to Ida Mae. This was the first time she’d join the discussions in a long while.

Then Ida Mae started softly singing.

“Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two, Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four
Lord, I'm 500 miles away from home
Away from home, away from home, away from home, away from home
Lord, I'm 500 miles away from home”

“It’s called 500 Miles. And I first heard it after my parents were killed and I went to live with my grandmother.”