Here's what the maestro himself said about it during the concert on (German) radio station WDR 2 in 2009:
"This song [...] is about a man in New York who is like Stradivari really. He builds these beautiful orchestral guitars [...], and he started to make me a guitar. I said "Don't make me a guitar. They are too good, too good." But he wanted to make me a guitar, and as he's making me the guitar he's sending me little emails. And he says things about making the guitar like: "The chisels are calling", "it's time to make sawdust", and I realized that he was a little bit like me: slightly obsessed with what he's doing. Inspiring guy, so I wrote this song for him. His name is John Monteleone, and the song is called Monteleone."
On the concert in London (2010) Knopfler told the same story, and added that he came to meet Monteleone because "a friend of mine took me along to see him in his workshop".
I didn't hear the story about his daughter, though it sounds nice. However, I wonder if Knopfler is the guy to go around and ask people to do a guitar for him. Also, why would he tell the story the other way round in his concerts?
Anyway, it truly is a warm and tender song, as you put it.
Here's what the maestro himself said about it during the concert on (German) radio station WDR 2 in 2009:
"This song [...] is about a man in New York who is like Stradivari really. He builds these beautiful orchestral guitars [...], and he started to make me a guitar. I said "Don't make me a guitar. They are too good, too good." But he wanted to make me a guitar, and as he's making me the guitar he's sending me little emails. And he says things about making the guitar like: "The chisels are calling", "it's time to make sawdust", and I realized that he was a little bit like me: slightly obsessed with what he's doing. Inspiring guy, so I wrote this song for him. His name is John Monteleone, and the song is called Monteleone."
On the concert in London (2010) Knopfler told the same story, and added that he came to meet Monteleone because "a friend of mine took me along to see him in his workshop".
I didn't hear the story about his daughter, though it sounds nice. However, I wonder if Knopfler is the guy to go around and ask people to do a guitar for him. Also, why would he tell the story the other way round in his concerts?
Anyway, it truly is a warm and tender song, as you put it.