Complex Numbers

You Get A Shiver in the Dark

The Story Behind The Song: Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits

https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-dire-straits-sult...

Singer/guitarist Mark Knopfler had written it in 1977, after ducking into a deserted pub one rainy night and witnessing a lousy jazz band. Undeterred by the lack of both talent and punters, their lead singer finished the set with a mildly enthusiastic, “Goodnight and thank you. We are the Sultans Of Swing.”

Much of writing, be it fiction or non-fiction such as articles about music, depends on point of view. We have to choose it carefully - and I don't mean just first person or the various third person perspectives (or even the less common second person narrative), so I suppose another word for it would be focus.

In Avengers:Infinity War, for example - yes, I know it's a movie, but writers were involved, and yes, there is a spoiler ahead but if you haven't seen it by now, that's on you - the story is told from the focus of the various heroes we've come to know from previous movies. And the ending sucks for them; they lose. This evokes sadness in the audience. But if you tell the story from Thanos' point of view, it's a tremendous victory. Sure, maybe it would be harder to identify with the guy who wants to eliminate half the sentient beings in the universe - for some people. Other people kind of saw his point.

But I digress. Point is, the linked article is far from the first rags-to-riches story in the music world. It's compelling; I mean, no one wants to hear about bands that got their start by, say, inheriting ten million dollars. No, we want to hear how the underdog became victorious. It's kind of an American thing, though not exclusively; after all, the band in question here is purely British. The details are always different, but the story's often the same: talented and hard-working musician(s) start out unknown, begging for scraps, using secondhand instruments, sleeping rough; then, boom, big break, hit single, concerts in packed stadiums.

I mean, really, it's the archetypal story of rock and roll - but again, not limited to that one genre. I was fortunate enough to personally witness it once, as the Dave Matthews Band went from playing drunk, sweaty fraternity parties to international stardom.

But you never hear the story of the Sultans of Swing.

I don't mean the song; I mean the desultory jazz band that provided Mark Knopfler's inspiration in the linked article. There you are, just trying to earn a living, maybe getting a few quid from the landlord, more likely just hoping for exposure. Along comes a desperate guitarist, putting up with your music just to stay out of the rain for a couple of hours. You don't recognize him because he's not famous yet. He's just sitting there having a pint or three. The set ends, you say "Goodnight and thank you," and you maybe go home and smoke a bowl and try to reevaluate your life.

And then a year or two later, you hear it on the radio. Sultans of Swing.

I wish some music journalist could have tracked them down and asked them what they thought about it. How they felt about their sole purpose in life being to make Mark Knopfler and the other band members millionaires by way of one brief moment of inspiration. Where are they now? Dead from some overdose? Doddering about in a nursing home, still cursing the name of Dire Straits for all eternity?

Did they even remember that one fateful night, or could it have been, to them, any one of a hundred lousy pub gigs?

"Then, of course, it’s a story. And let’s face it, all good songs have a story."

Everything has a story. Most of them don't have happy endings. Most of us are not destined for greatness. Most of us are the Sultans of Swing.