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2000 Miles

Field	Value
name	2000 Miles
cover	Single Pretenders-2000 Miles cover.jpg
border	yes
type	single
artist	Pretenders
album	Learning to Crawl
B-side	Fast or Slow (The Law's the Law)
released
genre	* Christmas
* soft rock<ref>{{cite web	url	http://www.avclub.com/article/how-far-would-you-travel-love-14-songs-go-distance-207823	title=How far would you travel for love? 14 songs that go the distance	website=The A.V. Club	date=22 September 2014	accessdate=28 August 2015}}
length
label	Real (UK)
Sire (US)
writer	Chrissie Hynde
producer	Chris Thomas
prev_title	My City Was Gone
prev_year	1982
next_title	Middle of the Road
next_year	1983
misc	{{Extra album cover
header	Gatefold image
type	single
cover	Single Pretenders-2000 Miles cover (gatefold).jpg
border	yes
caption	Cover image of gatefold single release (Real ARE 20F)}}

| B-side = Fast or Slow (The Law's the Law)

soft rock Sire (US)

"2000 Miles" is a song by the British rock band Pretenders. Written by lead vocalist Chrissie Hynde and produced by Chris Thomas, it was released on 18 November 1983 as the second single from their third studio album, Learning to Crawl (1984). It was most popular in the UK, where it peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1983. In the US, it was released as the B-side of both the 7-inch single and 12-inch single remix of the band's hit "Middle of the Road".

Influenced by Otis Redding's "Thousand Miles Away", the song was written a year after the band's guitarist, James Honeyman-Scott, had died of a drug overdose in 1982. Hynde has noted that she thinks "the sense of distance in the lyrics" refers to Honeyman-Scott". Considered a Christmas song, it has been released on various Christmas compilation albums.

Background

According to music critic Jon Pareles, the song is about missing a man at Christmastime. "Robbie McIntosh plays beautifully on '2000 Miles'," Hynde recalled. "Anything to avoid listening to my voice and my stupid words."

The song frequently reappears on the UK Singles Chart around Christmastime, staying in the charts for a few weeks over the Christmas period.

Critical reception

Dave Marsh, in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, ranked "2000 Miles"' as the 630th best rock or soul single to that date. It is one of four songs by Pretenders listed in the book. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it the Pretenders’ 9th greatest song, calling it "one of the season's most beloved Christmas songs."

According to analysis of PRS for Music figures, it was estimated that the song generates £102,000 of royalties per year.

Music video

The official video features Hynde dressed as a member of The Salvation Army in a snowy location. Chrissie Hynde also recorded a version of the song in 1995 with violins and other stringed instruments for The Isle Of View album.

Covers

British rock band Coldplay released a piano cover of the song as a charity single. The track's digital download was available for £1.50 between 16 December 2003 and 1 January 2004, with all royalties being donated to Stop Handgun Violence and Future Forests.

KT Tunstall covered the song for her Christmas EP Sounds of the Season: The KT Tunstall Holiday Collection (2007).

American pop rock band Train covered the song for their Christmas album Christmas in Tahoe (2015). The same year, Australian singer Kylie Minogue covered the song for her first Christmas album Kylie Christmas.

American rock band Smash Mouth covered the song on the 2012 reissue of their 2005 album, The Gift of Rock.

American indie rock band C-Clamp covered the song on the 1998 compilation The My Pal God Holiday Record.

Charts

Chart (1983–1984)	Peak
position	Australia (Kent Music Report)
30

Certifications

References

(5 November 1983). "News". [[Record Mirror]].
(22 September 2014). "How far would you travel for love? 14 songs that go the distance".
(5 September 2005). "CLASSIC TRACKS: The Pretenders 'Back On The Chain Gang' Producer: Chris Thomas • Engineer: Steve Churchyard". SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors.
Allison Rapp. (18 Nov 2023). "How The Pretenders Attempted To Move Forward With "2000 Miles"". [[Ultimate Classic Rock]].
Alan York. (3 Dec 2023). "2000 Miles: Why Pretenders Beloved Christmas Song Still Goes The Distance". ThisIsDig.
Pareles, Jon. (22 January 1984). "Chrissie Hynde makes peace with the past and moves on". The New York Times.
''[[Select (magazine). Select]]'', July 1990
"2000 miles - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company".
"The Heart of Rock and Soul by Dave Marsh - 1001 greatest singles".
Wardlaw, Matt. (September 7, 2011). "Top 10 Pretenders songs". Ultimate Classic Rock.
(21 December 2024). "From Wham to Slade... just how much do these classic Christmas songs earn each festive season?". [[Radio X (United Kingdom).
"The Story Of... '2000 Miles' by The Pretenders".
{{youtube. gbcgxyRAgO0. 2000 Miles
(5 May 2005). "Coldplay – 2000 Miles". Coldplay.
Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1983-singles american-christmas-songs the-pretenders-songs song-recordings-produced-by-chris-thomas-(record-producer) sire-records-singles songs-written-by-chrissie-hynde 1983-songs songs-about-musicians british-soft-rock-songs music-videos-directed-by-tim-pope british-christmas-songs

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