Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
2000 Miles (1983)
The Pretenders had a meteoric rise in the early '80s, bursting out of the gate with a near-perfect debut album. They followed that up with a strong second album in August 1981, but the problems started soon afterward. Bassist Pete Farndon was fired in June 1982 for excessive drug use, and just two days later, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died of heart failure because of cocaine intolerance. Less than a year after that, Farndon was found dead in his bathtub after taking cocaine and passing out.
Before Farndon's death, bandleader Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers had chosen to move forward with the band and teamed with Big Country bassist Tony Butler and ex-Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner to release the excellent single "Back on the Chain Gang" and its B-side "My City Was Gone," both of which became popular ("Chain Gang" went all the way to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100). They brought in guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster as permanent members and recorded their third album, Learning to Crawl, in late '82.
The first single from the album, "Middle of the Road," was released in November 1983, with "2000 Miles" as its B-side; in the U.K., "2000 Miles" was released as a single. Ostensibly about two lovers missing each other at Christmas, "2000 Miles" could also be interpreted as a tribute to Honeyman-Scott.
"He's gone/2000 miles/Is very far/The snow is falling down/Gets colder day by day/I miss you/The children were singing/He'll be back at Christmastime."
McIntosh wrote a lilting guitar riff that gives the song a timeless and dare I say Christmas-y feel.
"In these frozen and silent nights/Sometimes in a dream, you appear/Outside under the purple sky/Diamonds in the snow sparkle/Our hearts were singing/It felt like Christmastime/Two thousand miles is very far in the snow/I'll think of you/Wherever you go."
The song was a bigger hit in the U.K., where it reached #15 on the Singles chart, but it has also become a holiday staple here in the U.S. "2000 Miles" has been included on many Christmas music compilations and periodically returns to the U.K. charts every Christmas.
Learning to Crawl was released in January 1984 and was a hit. Hynde and the Pretenders have released nine more albums in the 40 years since with various lineup configurations. The band's long career is a testament to Hynde's talent and perseverance, and "2000 Miles" is nothing less than a holiday classic.
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