Five Little Miles

Bob Nolan
Original copyright: 1955

Pioneers:
One little, two little, three little, four little, five little miles from you.
Four little, three little, two little, one little mile so don’t feel blue.
One little, two little, three little, four little, five little miles to go
Four little, three little, two little, one little mile and then you’ll know

Bob:
That I’ve been counting every moment since I’ve been away
And I knew that just to go meant soon I’d hear you say—

Pioneers:
It’s just been one little, two little, three little, four little, five miles too far.
Four little, three little, two little, one little mile and here we are.

Bob:
I have roamed this wide world over on my merry way
But a new leaf I’ve turned over, starting from today.

Pioneers:
One little, two little, three little, four little, five little girls went by.
Four little, three little, two little, one little girl just caught my eye.
One little, two little, three little, four little, five little girls could see
Four little, three little, two little, one little girl was meant for me.

Bob:
Did she smile or was I dreaming? Did she smile for me?
Did her eyes speak in their gleaming? I wonder what they see.

Pioneers:
Or are we one little, two little, three little, four little, five little miles apart?
Four little, three little, two little, one little mile—there goes my
One little, two little, three little, four little, five girls stole my heart!

This catchy little tune was written for Republic Pictures' Roy Rogers film Utah, in 1945. Not only was it sung by the Sons of the Pioneers, it was picked up throughout the soundtrack and changed, at the end, from "miles" to "sheep" for the finale song sequence. Just a simple counting song, Five Little Miles was written to distract the film heroine’s attention each time she attempted to ask embarrassing questions. Because of its simplicity and monotony, the song was tremendously aggravating to her, as it was intended to be. We originally transcribed the words from the soundtrack of Utah then checked it against the cue sheet from Brigham Young University.

Republic Pictures still holds the copyright on this song as it was a "song-for-hire". A song copyright in 1946 would be eligible for termination in 2003. Songs written under a "song-for-hire" arrangement are not eligible for termination. They remain the property of the original owner. Bob thought little of the songs he wrote for the Roy Rogers movies. There is no sheet music or any other recording.

We do not have any sheet music for this song.

We do not have any recordings of this song.