I agree. I'd say it's about a lost love with the singer basically wondering about where she is now, using the metaphor of detective looking for a missing person in parts, coupled with the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he just can't forget her. "The lowdown - a picture of your face" - shows how he still keeps a picture of her.
The ladykiller was obviously a factor in the split and she's fallen for him and been used which may contribute to her absence, or simply sought him for a bit of fun under the sheets. In any case, the man in question is perhaps sorry in principle but not particularly apologetic for his part as she threw herself on him, "under my wheels." After all, which bloke honestly could be when he probably doesn't even know she has a significant other and has done the same several times before? While it's possible the singer knows this character vaguely, he finds it hard regardless to hold contempt for him for this reason, hence the absence of such lyrics.
The emotion the singer feels instead is hurt and confusion at why she irrationally left him for the tattooed stud. What angers him most is why she chose this guy over him where he clearly felt nothing for him, yet the singer loved her dearly and while she knows that's the case, she still won't go back to him; "Your injured looks," "Seems to me such a waste."
"And every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet" This is another aspect to the singer's feelings. Unrequited love in any case is bittersweet with the sheer joy you feel for that person, but the pain that comes with the lack of reciprocation at the same time, also empahasised earlier in the song; "The pleasure and the pain." The bittersweetness in relation to the victory is also perhaps akin to his efforts to forget her; the more he manages to get over her, the more empty he feels with no feelings of love for anyone else - the extent of the vacuum she's left in his life.
Many of the other references are rather enigmatic and as with any song probably only bear relevance to the writer on a personal note, even if just in a metaphorical sense; you'd have sit Mark down with a pint to explain them. One however, is the fact that he seems to be in New York during the 4th of July celebrations: "And the fireworks over liberty explode in the heat." "The moon is hanging upside down" would tend to suggest that he's in Australia perhaps, or anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, where due to the angle of the earth and the way the sun hits it the moon is often said to appear upside down when compared to the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps, this is supposed to emphasise the fact that he can take himself to the other end of the world, but not her out of his head, hence the following line, "I don't know why it is I'm still on the case"
Finally, I think the chord riff-based instrumental at the end is a piece of onomatopoeic musical genius. Instead of being a reflective, brooding piece about his loss, its upbeat tones of defiance and optimism seem to reflect a confident desire on the part of the writer to finally move on and forget. It's the kind of piece that on its own would serve as the perfect soundtrack to the final scene of a classy film where the main protagonist drives off into the sunset with the top down, shades on, and beautiful girl in the passenger seat. The endings of Desperado and the alternative one to Layer Cake (if you've seen the DVD extras) particularly stick in my mind here, perhaps the Thomas Crown affair too; the essence of cool in other words, which this ostinanto arrangement soaks up like Oliver Reed and a case of Scotch. And it's this notion of coolness and a stiff upper lip that the singer hopes will see him through his sorrow.
I've wondered on a bit haven't I? Still, Knopfler and Straits at their polished best well deserve it.
I agree. I'd say it's about a lost love with the singer basically wondering about where she is now, using the metaphor of detective looking for a missing person in parts, coupled with the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he just can't forget her. "The lowdown - a picture of your face" - shows how he still keeps a picture of her.
The ladykiller was obviously a factor in the split and she's fallen for him and been used which may contribute to her absence, or simply sought him for a bit of fun under the sheets. In any case, the man in question is perhaps sorry in principle but not particularly apologetic for his part as she threw herself on him, "under my wheels." After all, which bloke honestly could be when he probably doesn't even know she has a significant other and has done the same several times before? While it's possible the singer knows this character vaguely, he finds it hard regardless to hold contempt for him for this reason, hence the absence of such lyrics.
The emotion the singer feels instead is hurt and confusion at why she irrationally left him for the tattooed stud. What angers him most is why she chose this guy over him where he clearly felt nothing for him, yet the singer loved her dearly and while she knows that's the case, she still won't go back to him; "Your injured looks," "Seems to me such a waste."
"And every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet" This is another aspect to the singer's feelings. Unrequited love in any case is bittersweet with the sheer joy you feel for that person, but the pain that comes with the lack of reciprocation at the same time, also empahasised earlier in the song; "The pleasure and the pain." The bittersweetness in relation to the victory is also perhaps akin to his efforts to forget her; the more he manages to get over her, the more empty he feels with no feelings of love for anyone else - the extent of the vacuum she's left in his life.
Many of the other references are rather enigmatic and as with any song probably only bear relevance to the writer on a personal note, even if just in a metaphorical sense; you'd have sit Mark down with a pint to explain them. One however, is the fact that he seems to be in New York during the 4th of July celebrations: "And the fireworks over liberty explode in the heat." "The moon is hanging upside down" would tend to suggest that he's in Australia perhaps, or anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, where due to the angle of the earth and the way the sun hits it the moon is often said to appear upside down when compared to the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps, this is supposed to emphasise the fact that he can take himself to the other end of the world, but not her out of his head, hence the following line, "I don't know why it is I'm still on the case"
Finally, I think the chord riff-based instrumental at the end is a piece of onomatopoeic musical genius. Instead of being a reflective, brooding piece about his loss, its upbeat tones of defiance and optimism seem to reflect a confident desire on the part of the writer to finally move on and forget. It's the kind of piece that on its own would serve as the perfect soundtrack to the final scene of a classy film where the main protagonist drives off into the sunset with the top down, shades on, and beautiful girl in the passenger seat. The endings of Desperado and the alternative one to Layer Cake (if you've seen the DVD extras) particularly stick in my mind here, perhaps the Thomas Crown affair too; the essence of cool in other words, which this ostinanto arrangement soaks up like Oliver Reed and a case of Scotch. And it's this notion of coolness and a stiff upper lip that the singer hopes will see him through his sorrow.
I've wondered on a bit haven't I? Still, Knopfler and Straits at their polished best well deserve it.