James Petrillo, head of the American Federation of Musicians, called for a musicians' strike in 1948 that cut Bing's recorded output to a mere two songs that year. "Far Away Places" was one of them, and it paid Bing's rent and utilities for the year. The song was recorded a cappella (no orchestral accompaniment) because of the strike, with only the Ken Darby Choir mooing in the background. The song was in the Billboard charts for 19 weeks, reaching as high as No. 2 for 3 weeks.
Far away places with strange-soundin' names
Far away over the sea
Those far away places with the strange-soundin' names
Are callin', callin' me
Goin' to China or maybe Siam
I want to see for myself
Those far away places I've been readin' about
In a book that I took from the shelf
I start gettin' restless whenever I hear
The whistle of a train
I pray for the day I can get underway
And look for those castles in Spain
They call me a dreamer, well maybe I am
But I know that I'm burnin' to see
Those far away places with the strange-soundin' names
Callin', callin' me
(I pray for the day when I'll find a way
Those far away places to see)
Those far away places with the strange-soundin' names
Callin', callin' me