Yes, amazing song - actually the live version is better, with a more interesting introduction on the piano.
The point of this song is not a nice location - that is completely missing the point. Yes, Shangri-La means a paradisical location, but it's wrong to read too much into that in this case. Shangri-La is actually the name of the studio where Knopfler recorded the whole album - URL here: beejtar.com/#
This song is not about a place but is actually about love, youth and companionship. The singer knows youth doesn't last for ever - "it's here and then it's gone", "we may never love again". All the "surfer boys and girls" are the spirit of carefree youth, and the singer is one of them. Not only that but he has his lover with him, and all the friendship, passion and freedom blend into a Shangri-La of the emotions - there is a place, but it's a place in his head/heart.
The pleasure is not unalloyed - that would make the song shallow. There's a pang of pain there as well, because the singer knows that tonight is the best it can be, and that there may never be any more moments in his life like this.
But that doesn't mean it is a one-night stand, as someone says above. Why spoil it by saying that? "We may never love again" doesn't mean "This is a one-night stand"; it means "We may never love anyone else as much as we love each other at this moment."
Yes - no one writes them like MK; and he seems to have got better with time.
Yes - no one writes them like MK; and he seems to have got better with time.
I agree largely with songanalyst's interpretation - the location might have some bearing on the song's meaning; alternatively it may simply serve as a romantic backdrop to the strong feelings which motivated him to write this beautiful lyric.
I agree largely with songanalyst's interpretation - the location might have some bearing on the song's meaning; alternatively it may simply serve as a romantic backdrop to the strong feelings which motivated him to write this beautiful lyric.
He refers to an occassion many of us may have had, when we experienced a moment of overpowering love and closeness with someone we held very dear. The painful 'twist in the tail', however, is the recognition that this moment was likely to have been fleeting, and may never occur again.
One of the best songs by one of the greatest song writers we have.
Yes, amazing song - actually the live version is better, with a more interesting introduction on the piano.
The point of this song is not a nice location - that is completely missing the point. Yes, Shangri-La means a paradisical location, but it's wrong to read too much into that in this case. Shangri-La is actually the name of the studio where Knopfler recorded the whole album - URL here: beejtar.com/#
This song is not about a place but is actually about love, youth and companionship. The singer knows youth doesn't last for ever - "it's here and then it's gone", "we may never love again". All the "surfer boys and girls" are the spirit of carefree youth, and the singer is one of them. Not only that but he has his lover with him, and all the friendship, passion and freedom blend into a Shangri-La of the emotions - there is a place, but it's a place in his head/heart.
The pleasure is not unalloyed - that would make the song shallow. There's a pang of pain there as well, because the singer knows that tonight is the best it can be, and that there may never be any more moments in his life like this.
But that doesn't mean it is a one-night stand, as someone says above. Why spoil it by saying that? "We may never love again" doesn't mean "This is a one-night stand"; it means "We may never love anyone else as much as we love each other at this moment."
Yes - no one writes them like MK; and he seems to have got better with time.
Yes - no one writes them like MK; and he seems to have got better with time.
I agree largely with songanalyst's interpretation - the location might have some bearing on the song's meaning; alternatively it may simply serve as a romantic backdrop to the strong feelings which motivated him to write this beautiful lyric.
I agree largely with songanalyst's interpretation - the location might have some bearing on the song's meaning; alternatively it may simply serve as a romantic backdrop to the strong feelings which motivated him to write this beautiful lyric.
He refers to an occassion many of us may have had, when we experienced a moment of overpowering love and closeness with someone we held very dear. The painful 'twist in the tail', however, is the recognition that this moment was likely to have been fleeting, and may never occur again.
One of the best songs by one of the greatest song writers we have.