This is another one of those songs that seems to be inspired by Mark Knopfler reading a specific biography or history book (similar to "Boom, Like That" and "Sailing to Philadelphia"). If I had to guess, it would be "The Devil and Sonny Liston," by Nick Tosches, which prominently recounts a lot of the things that Knopfler refers to, such as his abuse by his father, his virtual enslavement to the mob, his supposedly thrown fight, his heroin addiction, etc.
This is another one of those songs that seems to be inspired by Mark Knopfler reading a specific biography or history book (similar to "Boom, Like That" and "Sailing to Philadelphia"). If I had to guess, it would be "The Devil and Sonny Liston," by Nick Tosches, which prominently recounts a lot of the things that Knopfler refers to, such as his abuse by his father, his virtual enslavement to the mob, his supposedly thrown fight, his heroin addiction, etc.