The Proclaimers' lyric asks, “I would walk 500...” and the canonical answer is “miles.” The song is officially titled “I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles),” making the answer especially clear rather than merely implied by a longer verse.
The Scottish duo, brothers Craig and Charlie Reid, wrote the song in 1988 while waiting to perform in Aberdeen. It appeared on their second album, Sunshine on Leith, and was first released in August 1988. Its energetic promise of travelling enormous distances for love helped make it a concert staple.
The song became much more famous in North America after appearing in the 1993 film Benny & Joon, reaching number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. A 2007 Comic Relief version changed the repeated travel verb because its comedy characters use wheelchairs, so that version should not be confused with the original recording.
A common mix-up is treating “500” as the song's full title or remembering the altered charity version. In the original Proclaimers recording, “miles” is the single canonical completion.