You & Your Friend

Pentultimate cuckold tune.

Dude is siting alone... without the women he loves. She tells him it's "just a "friend"... But he knows damned well she's gettin' the pipe laid to her.

He's a man in real pain. Coping. Playing it in his mind. Ate up.

Beautiful, soulful stuff.

The song maybe referenced as sexual, in fact, this was what I perceived initially. However, I would liken "you & your friend" as a person with their guitar. It wouldn't be far fetched, as some guitarists give their companions certain names. For example, let's not forget B.B. King and Lucille. During the course of the song, both the lead and pedal steel guitar are in a "call and response" arrangement. Knopfler could be asking someone when they are available to hook up and play; that quintessential love making between both instruments. Imagination doesn't necessarily have to be carnal sexuality, it could be that he envisions the music he could make with someone.

P.S. If you could see Knopfler and his expression when speaking to Jeff Baxter about smelling guitar catalogs, then anyone would know he's a "sex machine" when it comes to playing the guitar and bonding with another person during a session.

Threesome??... Err, no, that is most probably NOT what this song is about. His wife/girlfriend is out "with a friend". Is it a real friend or is she cheating on him? There is a constant battle in his head about what is going on.

I think this is a very bluesy and breathtakingly beautiful song.

I can't believe no one commented on this one!

To me, this song evokes sadness and melancholy.

Very beautiful song!

This is a great song ... a very sexy song - I think the song refers to two women dropping over for some sexual adventures. He says, "I’m a hungry man" and "You got my imagination Working overtime". Great stuff! The guitar playing at the end of the song expresses a wanting and yearning ...

It just occurred to me today that this song might be about a threesome.

it sucks when you read someone else's interpretation and it makes so much more sense than what you thought the song meant haha.. i interpreted it as being about having your boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever cheating on you, and you knowing about it. he/she acts like this person is his "friend" but doesn't know that you know the truth..or that you suspect. anyway.. thats just how i interpreted it..but that might have had something to do with my situation at the time haha. anyway, it's a beautiful song, makes me cry every time i hear it..

I have to agree, I think its about a threesome as well. The image I get is a guy in a bar meeting two girls, just kind of staring and talking to them. All the while he is running through some very dirty thoughts in his mind.

I'm not really sure what to make of this song. I enjoy the intro more than the actual singing part of the song. I've always been a fan of guitars despite I don't actually play one myself. After reading the previous comments, I believe there is some sort of sexual meaning behind the lyrics as Mark refers to them "get on down." However, these are just innunedos and there is no explicit parts of the song that actually says they are doing naughty things :P

I guess it's one of those songs where you have to make your own mind up about it and that there's more than one way you can take the lyrics ;)

I think this song is about someone who is sceptical about a potential lover as they think they might be cheating with a 'friend' , this 'friend' is obviously very close to the bfriend of this person, the persons imagination works overtime thinking maybe the two of them are together cheating etc... so they essentially may be left down by them.