This song was inspired by the Falklands War, which was going on when Dire Straits lead singer Mark Knopfler wrote the song. In this song, Mark Knopfler sings about a soldier who is dying on the battlefield, surrounded by his comrades, who remain by his side as he slips away. It's a look at the folly of war and the plight of those who fight them. "We've got just one world but we live in different ones,"
Yes, you said it correctly, it is a dedication to any soldier, in any war, past present or future. It couldn't be better or more deserving. That guitar is weeping and actually singing throughout the whole song, it's so magical, gets me every time.
It never fails to amaze me after listening to Mark Knoffler and Dire Straits for between 40 and50 years, how he manages to achieve the same tones from any make of guitar - be it Fender, Gibson or whatever !! I have heard a lot of wonderful guitarists in my 75 years but none have ever got my attention more than Mark Knoffler and the legendary Dire Straits. Simply a Phenomenon !
This version made for the official video is edited and cut in the intro and, in a way that I personally don't appreciate, in the final instrumental solo. The original full version from the "Brothers in arms" album is a lot better to feel its complete vibe, and if you'd like to try it, the live version from the 1993 live album "On the night" is so heartbreaking. Anyway, you did a great job as always enjoying and analyzing music ☺️
A extremely sad but beautiful song about the COMARADERIE BETWEEN the brave who fight and have fought for justice and freedom!! GOD BLESS THEM ALL!! A sincere genuine reaction!, Hap! 💜🎵💜🎵 good choice, Zana
🎼🎸🎶🔥 Once again that unmistakable Dire Straits sound, but a totally different vibe, musically. This is a transporitve piece, musically, emotionally, just incredible 💕. The lyrics are beyond any words. Loved this so much. Wonderful song choice Zana. Hap, I really enjoyed your reaction. For a first time reaction, you captured its etherealness and its deep meaning. Peace J ✌ ☮ 💕
This song always makes me cry even though it is a song I truly love. The words of the song and the music are so expressive. The music always gives me the pictures of a soldier starting out with his brothers as they go into conflict; a soldier that may have gotten separated from his brothers and he's feeling afraid; a soldier's pain from being wounded; a soldier's confusion in turmoil and the sadness/heartbreak for those that are lost in combat. That guitar just sings and weeps at the same time. Thank you for reacting to this beautiful song, Hap. I enjoyed listening to it and watching your facial reactions. Take care and be well. Peace.
Its so relevant, even now and also shows that you don't have to go nuts on the guitar to sound fantastic. This should be played more often because as said below in the other comments, its about the folly of war. The video is still up there, one of the best ever As you say, genius
Can't say I knew this song before but it's a good one! Loved the vibe and the lyrics AND the music. Great trio put together to make a very good song. Good choice!
- We can see a classic scene with this song, on the TV show "Miami Vice" in the 1980's, (in last scene of the episode: 'Out Where the Buses Don't Run')
Awww, I love this song. It’s one of my favourites of this group and sorry HAP, I think you will not get around making a playlist for them, because they’ve a lot more great songs to offer🥰. All what I know is, that Mark Knopfler, who wrote this song, was inspired by a war, which was going on at this time. He was telling the story of the soldiers on the battlefield and the comrades which died so to speak literally in their arms. A quite deep and meaningful song, but a musically fantastic crafted masterpiece. Great reaction and wonderful choice Zana🥰🙋🏻♀️.
It is so good to see you react to Dire Straits, my second favorite band after Queen. This song was my introduction to the band and I immediately bought the album. The whole album is wonderful, one of their best, IMO. Knopfler is absolutely unique as a guitarist, one of the best, with a sound that is unmistakably his own, and a marvelous storyteller. He has also done some fabulous solo work after the band broke up, and has written the soundtrack scores for several films. One of my favorites is Local Hero, all instrumental tracks except for one song sung by Gerry Rafferty, The Way It Always Starts. Maybe you could react to it. It's a good song, from a great movie. On the subject of war, around Christmastime, you might enjoy reacting to Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon. It is about the WWII unofficial truce between British & German troops, a beautifully heart-wrenching story. It's a true story. I've read that there was a young German soldier present who did not approve. His name was Adolph Hitler.
It make's me cry every time I hear it and as some people have said the guitar is crying out for the lost soldier as he dies no the battle field surrounded by his Brother's in Arms. Faulklands War.
IMHO, the best anti-war song ever. I've been listening to this song and this album since it was released in 1985. I get something more each time because I keep changing and growing, so as I change, I hear more. For instance, my understanding became more nuanced after I held some of the most loved people in my life as they died (not in war, I hasten to add). There is a period of reflection or peace or clarity that is hard to describe in the time before someone dies. It might not be in their dying moment--it might be right before they slip into that last coma before they die. Everything trivial and unimportant is stripped away and all they have left is the core of their being. That is who they are at heart. In this song, the song's narrator is a soldier who longs for the life they had before war, when they lived in a peaceful, fertile valley full of farms. Full of the softness and richness of life vs the harshness and deceptiveness of rocky mountains that only look soft because of the mist around them. During the battle, there was terror and struggle and, ultimately, terrible pain and the fear of abandonment. But his fellow soldiers, his brothers in arms, despite their own shared fear and danger, did not abandon him to his fate, they stayed with him. I know about the terrible loneliness of being wounded, having spent over 5 months on a burn unit at one point (debriding with only Tylenol for pain control? when the first tattoo artist warned me that tattoos hurt, I just laughed)--being in near mortal pain (twice they called my husband to come in the middle of the night because the doctors didn't think I was going to live to see the morning) is profoundly lonely. At the end, the dying soldier realises that it isn't just him and his unit who are brothers in arms. The other side, the so-called enemy, they are also human, they are feeling the same fear, the same pain, they too have their brothers in arms--in a way, they are all brothers in arms, bound by a terrible shared experience (go back to the reference to living on just one world but in different worlds). It doesn't matter what the excuse for the war is or how matters got to that point, we all feel the fear, we all feel the pain, we all die. We are all brothers in arms at the core. We are fools to make war on our brothers in arms.
The best anti-war song ever. Based on the events in WW1, many claim is was based on the Falklands war, because he wrote the song at that time. But, you can arguably say it's a song you can base on every war. We are fools to make war on our brothers in arms. Because the enemy are just as much brothers in arms.
