In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah, the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life
Here comes Johnny and he'll tell you the story
Hand me down mu walkin' shoes
Here come Johnny with the power and the glory
Backbeat the talkin' blues
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah, the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life
Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah the boy can play
Decidation devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
And after all the violence and double talk
There's just a song in all the trouble and the strife
You do the walk, you do the walk of life
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah, the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life
Here comes Johnny and he'll tell you the story
Hand me down mu walkin' shoes
Here come Johnny with the power and the glory
Backbeat the talkin' blues
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah, the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life
Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah the boy can play
Decidation devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
And after all the violence and double talk
There's just a song in all the trouble and the strife
You do the walk, you do the walk of life
Lyrics submitted by kevin
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Page
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
This is a happy song, exuberantly done, and fun to listen to and to sing along with. To me, it's about a young musician, down in the subway tunnels, playing for change, just having a good time while he plays, and trying to pass some of that fun on to his listeners.
I can't help wondering if this song is in some sense a homage to Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" - describing the same Johnny, a few years later on and still on his way to stardom.
(Just an idea ... I might be completely wrong about this.)
There never was, and there never will be a better intro to a song than Walk of Life by Dire straights. The end
@andy78 best comment ever.
@andy78 I beg to differ.... Though tis definately a great song.
@andy78 what about 'money for nothing?' They both get my feet tappin..
It's a bit sad, actually, from a musician's viewpoint. The kicker here is the last stanza, where after the listener enjoyed a great performance that took him away for a moment, he walk's back into real life. It was just a song; nothing has changed.
@Pete R. This fits with what I was thinking when i listened to the song and read the lyrics. I don't have special insight, but since no one has given a definitive answer, I feel like the singer is on the subway at night. There's a performer in his car telling stories and singing songs of all sorts. Songs that involve intrigue, danger, and romance. Johnny, the performer, has dedication, devotion, and even though it's late at night, everyone in the car is interested. The stories are relatable and Johnny is an amazing performer. Though, after listening to his songs about life, even though nothing has changed, maybe you feel better about your life from having the knowledge that other people are having similar or worse problems - or at least that someone has some empathy with them
In the live version on On the Night, Mark changes the last "I Gotta Woman" to "Bony Moronie," which Lennon also covered on Rock and Roll. And of course, these are all songs Lennon grew up listening to and being inspired by.
As others have pointed out, the song is clearly about Lennon. What hasn't been mentioned yet is that the line, "down in the tunnels," is a reference to the Cavern Club, where the Beatles honed their craft, playing there over 200 times.
To me, this song is about you quintessential subway guitarist. Johnnys down in the tunnels trying to make it pay, just trying to get noticed. "Backbeat, the talkin' blues" suggests a blues song, which is spoken rather than sung, and only has a quiet, simple guitar beat, but deep, meaningful lyrics. "The Walk of Life" could have a few interpretations. One being that "Walk of Life" is this subway guitarists greatest song, and the keyboard bit played after ...Do the Walk of Life..." is a brief representation of this song. This seems appropriate when you take into account Dire Straits pentiant for working subtle redundancy into their songs, i.e. a song written about itself, or a song about a band who is, in many ways, Dire Straits themselves. Another interpretation is that the Walk of Life is the cycle this young guitarist is going through, waiting to be noticed. Waking up, hitting the tunnels, playing his thing, and going home.
I have never tried to make sense of this song but it never has failed to cheer me up when chips are down. There is something that just makes you feel good and somehow it just doesn't seem to matter to me what he meant with this song. Saw Mark Knopfler live here in Mumbai,India couple of weeks back and I am still floating from the experience of seeing the "god" in concert. and walk of life incidently was the second song in the concert.
I think the last stanza explains the whole thing "And after all the violence and double talk There's just a song in all the trouble and the strife" Johnny is an excellent songwriter, and he goes throught the "walk of life" then looks back on what he's done and doesn't worry about it, he just writes a song about it.
Aww no one has said anything about this song? Despite the heavy 80's feel this song has, it's really good. The lyrics seem to mean something but I can't figure it out.
First part of the song is about a guy on top of the world despite his somewhat pitiful surroundings. The second part emphasizes this more, and leads into the third part, in which the character falls from happiness. But at least he remembers the good times and that is the walk of life. I like the cajunish sound to it. Reminds me of my old Louisiana home.