Walk of Life (1985) – Dire Straits

Posted on May 22, 2026 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Walk of Life is one of Dire Straits’ most accessible and recognisable rock songs. It’s a throwback to the late ’50s rockers, but with a distinctly ’80s punch and a delicious synthesizer-driven keyboard riff thrown in for good measure. I introduced my children to the music of Dire Straits with this song, which seemed as good a place as any to start. This is one of their most vintage-oriented rockers, along with the Chuck Berry-inspired Twisting By The Pool.

Despite the infectious and upbeat sound of Walk of Life, it was originally released as the B-side to So Far Away ahead of the release of the album Brothers in Arms. Remarkably, Mark Knopfler had not originally planned to include it on the album, but Dire Straits manager Ed Bicknell convinced him to add it at the last minute after hearing the mix.

I think it was one of the first songs I heard by Dire Straits and, of course, I was an immediate fan. Although, because of its repetitive structure, limited chord changes and ever-present riff, its shine is not quite as strong for me as it once was. These days I tend to gravitate more towards their longer and more engrossing rock songs, but that’s not to take away the soft spot I’ll always have for Walk of Life. I mean, how could you grow tired of singing along to “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” baby, “What’d I Say“?

It was one of my favourite songs to sing along to as a precocious young lad and still is a blast to belt out on occasion. It also serves as quite the nostalgic trip, don’t ya think?

From Wikipedia below:

Walk of Life was eventually released as it’s own single and peaked at No. 7 in the US charts, becoming their third and last top ten hit and was their biggest ever hit in the UK peaking at No. 2.

Mark Knopfler told Classic Rock in 2015 how the song came about: “I saw a photograph of a kid playing a guitar in a subway, turning his face to the wall to get a good reverb.” The singer mentioned in the lyrics, “Johnny”, is said to perform “down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay“, a reference to busking in the subway. The songs he plays are oldies, including “I Got a Woman”, “Be-Bop-A-Lula”, “What’d I Say”, “My Sweet Lovin’ Woman”, and “Mack the Knife”. He also plays talking blues.

[Verse 1]
Here come Johnny singing oldies, goldies
“Be-Bop-A-Lula,” baby, “What’d I Say”
Here come Johnny singing “I Got a Woman”
Down in the tunnels, tryna make it pay

[Pre-Chorus]
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh, yeah, the boy can play
Dedication, devotion
He turnin’ all the night-time into the day

[Chorus]
He do the song about the sweet loving woman
He do the song about the knife
Then he do the walk, do the walk of life
Yeah, he do the walk of life
Woo-hoo

[Verse 2]
Here come Johnny gonna tell you the story
Hand me down, my walking shoes
Here come Johnny with the power and the glory
Backbeat, the talking blues

References:
1. Walk of Life – Wikipedia