| Mark Knopfler – Cleaning My Gun Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| I feel like some of you guys are overthinking this to find some deeper meaning. Knopfler likes to writes songs about reality or realistic situations (even more now in his older years). I think he is singing about a situation where he runs a club that used to have a "mirror ball" and a DJ, and was popular, until some gangsters came in and damaged the place and scared the patrons. His reference to the "firm" of "Blarney and Malarkey" (Irish terms) is probably a tongue-in-cheek reference to Irish goons who were demanding payment for the club to stay in business and then wrecking the place when they didn't get paid. This is why Knopfler says they will "take you to the cleaners or let you burn". In other words, the extortion payments will be so high you can't make a profit, and if you don't pay, they'll destroy the place (figuratively, "let you burn"). The reference to "a case of Old Damnation" is definitely reference to whiskey. There are a number of cheap brands that are not high quality and they all start with the name "Old" (e.g., Old Crow, Old Forester, Old Grand Dad, Old Overholt, etc., etc.) and they've been around for generations. The bottom line is that as a club owner, he cannot afford to pay the extortion money, and law enforcement either cannot or will not do anything. So, he is going to have to confront them when they eventually come to wreck the place (or worse) for him not paying. That is why he now has a tire iron in the corner, and why he keeps repeating that he's keeping his back to the wall, his eye on the door, and cleaning his gun. He's expecting the person he is singing to to be making a visit to provide support. He figures the bad guys, when they come, will come in force, which is why he says they will need bullets and a little luck. He is not happy about the situation, but is resigned to do what it takes to survive, which is why he says, at the end of the first verse: "I'm not complaining. It's the world we live in." | |
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