"Telegraph Road" as written by and Mark Knopfler....
A long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
Made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came walking down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back
Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their load
And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road
Then came the mines, then came the ore
Then there was the hard times, then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph Road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river
And my radio says tonight it's gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
There's six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow
I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
I've got a right to go to work but there's no work here to be found
Yes, and they say we're gonna have to pay what's owed
We're gonna have to reap from some seed that's been sowed
And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the Telegraph Road
Well, I'd sooner forget, but I remember those nights
Yeah, life was just a bet on a race between the lights
You had your hand on my shoulder, you had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder like you don't seem to care
But just believe in me baby and I'll take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
'Cause I've run every red light on memory lane
I've seen desperation explode into flames
And I don't wanna see it again
From all of these signs saying "sorry but we're closed"
All the way down the Telegraph Road
Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
Made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came walking down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back
Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their load
And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road
Then came the mines, then came the ore
Then there was the hard times, then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph Road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river
And my radio says tonight it's gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
There's six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow
I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
I've got a right to go to work but there's no work here to be found
Yes, and they say we're gonna have to pay what's owed
We're gonna have to reap from some seed that's been sowed
And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the Telegraph Road
Well, I'd sooner forget, but I remember those nights
Yeah, life was just a bet on a race between the lights
You had your hand on my shoulder, you had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder like you don't seem to care
But just believe in me baby and I'll take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
'Cause I've run every red light on memory lane
I've seen desperation explode into flames
And I don't wanna see it again
From all of these signs saying "sorry but we're closed"
All the way down the Telegraph Road
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You are forgetting one thing: back in the 1980's, the economy was also down the drain, and this song is from 1982.
In the UK you had Thatcher, who closed the mines and killed of thousands and thousands of jobs, killing the economy in a lot of small and medium towns, and redistributing the wealth to a few rich men who only got richer, and making the poor poorer. Just like Reagan did in the US, that's why they were such great buddies.
Simply brilliant.
The "Money For Nothing" live version is actually ~12:00 long, and a remix of a live version that appeared on the double live album entitled "Alchemy: Dire Straits Live", which was recorded during the "Love Over Gold" concert tour.
Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their loads
And the dirty old track was the telegraph road
It's absolutely amazing how they wrapped a civil development with such lyrics and melody.
"And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold"
a dire straits master piece
The first is the obvious: the "Telegraph Road" as it is called. Starts off a little no-where in the woods, develops more and more into a little industrial town, becomes a large, populated area, then after a while gets entirely abandoned, shut down, and just as deserted as it was beforehand.
The second theory that sprang to my mind upon pondering the lyrics a bit more deeply was that it could be a description of a relationship, using the "Telegraph Road" as a metaphor. First, there's nothing. The two in the relationship no not of each other. Then along they come, unpack their stuff, and eventually build a relationship and a home for themselves. They are at the peak of the relationship at the same point that there is heavy traffic on the road. Then, things turn out wrong, problems spring, matters go astray, and the relationship gets abandoned. All the things that they used to do are no longer, indicating the "Sorry, We're Closed" signs. The very last verse seems to add to my theory of it being about a relationship.
My third and final theory is that the song explains the course of a human being's life. Once again, starting with nothing but a horny girl and her erect husband. We then find a small baby, who makes himself comfortable in his environment. He keeps growing, expanding his knowledge, and then reaches the peak of his life. Shortly afterwards, things start going downhill, eventually leading to him deserting his life, or more bluntly, dying. Thus concludes the song.
And in case you didn't notice, the name of this website is "Song Meanings", not "Post bullshit". I'm sick of the "0|\/|6z53rzZ 7|-|!5 $0|\|6 R0xx34s |\/|Y S0xX3rs" bullshit. Aren't we supposed to be discussing what the song means to us? Not childish, fool-written asscrap with no content.
The lyrics combined with the instrumental backing, wich really reflects the lyrics, needs no explanation.
It's just a story that's being told.
Just shut up and enjoy is my advice.
The emotion that Knopfler puts in his singing is also mindblowing.
But...the finale that takes one last look 'all the way down the telegraph road' is geniousty itself: Love the reprising of the main theme, wich occurs 3 times...
Just: Wow
Brett Whiteley the talented Australian artist used to paint with this song played up LOUD!