"A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...

. It was released in June 1993 as the second single from his album '' This Time''. Like his previous single, this song peaked at number 2 in the United States and at number 3 in Canada. The song was featured in two films, ''

Red Rock West ''Red Rock West'' is a 1993 American neo-noir thriller film directed by John Dahl and starring Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh, and Dennis Hopper. It was written by Dahl and his brother Rick, and shot in Montana, Willcox, Arizona, Son ...

'' (filmed prior to the release of ''This Time'' using a studio demo recording) and ''

Chasers ''Chasers'' is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Dennis Hopper. It is about a pair of United States Navy shore patrollers (SPs) (Tom Berenger and William McNamara) who must escort a beautiful prisoner (Erika Eleniak), and the troubles they ...

''.

Content

The song's narrator is dealing with the aftermath of the end of his relationship with his significant other. The breakup is causing him to feel sad, lonely, and lost. Some of the lyrics in the refrain ("time don't matter to me" and "there's no place I wanna be") also describe his feelings of apathy and disinterest with everything else around him.

Music video

The music video was directed by Dwight Yoakam with the help of Carolyn Mayer (according to some sources). It features Yoakam riding on a

Copper Basin Railway The Copper Basin Railway is an Arizona short-line railroad that operates from a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) at Magma to Winkelman, in of length. The railroad also has a branch line that runs from Ray Junction to Ray, Arizo ...

train across the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

, and is shown in two frames showing mostly different views of the train and Yoakam. Fellow musician

Kelly Willis Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...

does a cameo appearance as the young woman standing in a shallow stream.

Chart performance

"A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" debuted at number 72 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of June 26, 1993.

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thousand Miles From Nowhere, A 1993 singles 1993 songs Dwight Yoakam songs Songs written by Dwight Yoakam Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Pete Anderson