Border Reiver

This is about a truck driver journeying from Glasgow to the South (probably England)in a lorry called an Albion Reiver (makers name: Albion Motors of Scotstoun) They used to have a 'rising sun' emblem on the grill at the front of the truck, and were known for reliability, the company has long since gone, Mark sings of his paperwork being OK and of having enough sleep, that would have been the 'log sheets' that drivers had to fill out daily telling of their journey details and rest periods etc. this is the only tune I can recall that mentions trucks and trucking, especially British trucks.

excellent catch on the lyric!

not sure if the six foot driver "can't" or "can" adjust the seat. sounds like MK is streaching out the "n" sound rather than a "t".

In that stanza, the driver is describing the attributes of his Albion & being able to move the seat back is necessary for a 6 foot driver with a "crash box & lever" that "needs the heel & toe". My 1949 Dodge truck with the unsyncronised gear box needed double clutching & not being able to move the seat closer (I'm not 6 foot) was inconvenient at best.

walterbyrd: don't believe this trucker has a government job; reference to the Ministry is the regulatory agency for truck drivers. What he is stealing is "time". He's driving fast "whistling down the hillsides & tearing up the climbs", using the heel & toe to shift quickly, to make a decent wage. He may be cheating a bit in his logs about sleep time.

He loves his truck; he repeatedly stresses that "It's an Albion". Not so much gloating as praising his Scotstoun lassie, sure as the sun rise, it's an Albion!

None of the commentators thus far have picked up on the true significance of the song title - Border Reiver. The Border reivers were feuding families that lived along the Scottish-English Border causing mayhem for 300 years during the middle ages; a region which neither the Scottish or English thrones had much control over; and so, in the name of survival in an era of lawlessness, turned their focus to thieving from each other; principally cattle! During this time, the border region was known as the debateable lands; perhaps for obvious reasons. And the people that lived there were known as Reivers. Another name for reiver, is raider. They were raiders! So Mark is just playing with a double entendre in referencing a lorry called a reiver whilst setting it in the border region. Very Good Mark. Next!!

such a beautiful song~ the melody is so enjoyable~ you just wanna dance to it.

Retrograde: the truck is the "Reiver", an Albion Reiver. Albion named their truck models to imply toughness. The driver is just a working man trying to make a decent living. Don't think is a bad guy, just a hard worker.

"Stealing time" when driving is like "making time" and is a euphemism for speeding.

"Crash box and lever

• she needs the heel and toe"

This seems to be a reference to a manual transmission without a synchroniser. Such transmissions require double-clutching to shift gears. The driver pushes on the clutch to shift to neutral, then releases the clutch and immediately depresses it again to shift to the new gear.... hence "she needs the heel and toe."

Wonderful song! Being in the US I will likely never see an Albion, but will certainly keep an eye out for them.

It must be "But you CAN"T adjust the seat" surely, to make sense..?

Sure as the Sunrise was the slogan for Albion trucks. One of their trucks was named the Border Reiver. Here's the ad that they had, made in Glasgow. www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/5831260133

OK, let's sum up.

This is an unusual song, in that it's a British trucker singing about his truck. You can't listen to much popular music without hearing about, say, a Peterbilt, because America is a very big place and driving across it is a difficult and romantic activity. The UK is quite small, and truckers do not have much of a place in UK culture. It's generally seen as just another job, and the trucks just another tool.

Mark Knopfler was born in Glasgow in Scotland, by the River Clyde, moved as a child to Newcastle, dominated by The River Tyne, moved to London, on The Thames, to become a successful musician, and, as international star, will have spent a lot of time in America. So is he a Scot, a Geordie, a Londoner, or some sort od Pesudo-American? He's clearly a Geordie, but he frequently takes on the other personas. The first Dire Straits album talks about The Wild West End (of London), the Lions of Trafalgar Square (statues), and the standout famous track is about a band playing in a pub in London Town. Even that album talks about the Tyne though (having a snog with a girl by the banks of it), and rivers in general and the Tyne in particular are a frequent theme in all his songs. My favourite Knopfler track (River Towns) puts him as an American sailor on The Ohio River. This album draws on his Scottish heritage, Celtic music, and the inevitable river references are to The Clyde (although not on this track).

The relationship between Scotland and England.

Prior to 1707 England and Scotland were completely separate countries, often squabbling, sometimes at war. The arguments ended with The Act Of Union in 1707, creating The United Kingdom. This was a settled relationship for a long time, so settled that when a vehicle company started in Scotland in 1899 it called itself Albion, an old name for the island of Britain but often used for England. It was still so settled that Albion launched a truck in ~ 1960 called the Reiver, a name for a Scottish border raider, something that would have been seen as a bit of romantic past history rather than ominous future threat. By the 1970s however some Scots sought to dissolve the Union, and Scotland was granted a separate parliament in the late 70s, the powers of which have grown, leading to a referendum on complete independence in 2014, which was lost. Post Brexit, there is strong pressure for another. This song dates from 2009 and the choice of a lorry made in Scotland named after border raiders could be seen as a reference to the independence debate that was coming.

More politics.

Knopfler generally sings from a worker's perspective. Newcastle will have been in post industrial decline when he was a young man, something he often implies is a Southern political choice. The reference to getting a living wage in 1963 could be seen as implied criticism of modern pay and conditions (this song will have been written during the financial crash).

The Albion Reiver

The Reiver is a forward control truck, ie the driver sits on top of the engine. This is more or less universal on European trucks now, but was quite modern at the time. Having the engine underneath will keep you warm in Winter but will be hot in Summer. The driver's seat adjusts forwards and backwards, which I think was a luxury at the time. The gearbox has no synchromesh, meaning the driver has to operate clutch, brake and throttle at the same time if changing down while braking. Since most humans only have two feet, that means either getting all your braking complete before changing gear or, if driving enthusiastically, operating brake and throttle at the same time using your heel and your toes separately. This is a skill. The Albion name died in 1972, although Leyland continued making the trucks until 1980. The symbol is a rather Japanese rising sun and the slogan was "As Sure As The Sunrise." They were made in Scotsoun, in Scotland.

The Ministry Of Transport regulates drivers' hours and ensures rest brakes, these days with a tachograph. I don't know if they were used in 1963. If a driver manages to run ahead of schedule, this will give him a longer break later. To run ahead of schedule by swift driving could be referred to as "stealing time". It doesn't imply illegality, and "Theiver" is clearly a handy rhyme for "Reiver".

The Song.

The protagonist is driving an Albion Reiver truck South from Glasgow to England. His paperwork is in order, he isn't worried by the authorities, he has had the legally mandated rest breaks (which implies he came the other way the previous day) and he is running ahead of schedule. His Scottish-made truck is nice and shiny, it already has 300,000 miles on but is capable of much more, the seat adjusts for his unusual (for 1963) height, the cab is warm in Winter but hot in Summer, the gearbox is non syncromesh but he is skilfully operating all three pedals with two feet to keep the speed up, he is happy with his earnings, he repeats the advertising slogan of the Scotsoun based truck maker.