Mark Knopfler: “When the guys said ‘Thank you very much, We are the Sultans of Swing,’ there was something really funny about it to me because Sultans, they absolutely weren’t. You know they were rather tired little blokes in pullovers.”
If Earthlings were tasked with presenting a single song to an extraterrestrial civilization to demonstrate the beauty and mastery of guitar playing – a piece that embodies the guitar’s central role in contemporary music, particularly rock ‘n roll – Sultans of Swing would undoubtedly make the shortlist, if not be the ultimate choice. Today’s featured track is a testament to the art of ensemble guitar playing: accessible, irresistibly catchy, and undeniably one of the greatest musical achievements ever recorded. This song is the epitome of ‘straight-up feel good music’.
Even decades later, its raw energy and kinetic allure remain as impactful as ever, cementing its place as a rock ‘n roll masterpiece which echoes throughout the ages.
Not only all that, but consider the significance of this song on the career of Dire Straits. It was their breakout song. THE song that got the record executives talking due to its popularity being put on rotation at BBC Radio London in 1977 and soon after the band were offered a contract with Phonogram Records. The song was then re-recorded in February 1978 at Basing Street Studios for the band’s debut album. Not only musically, but this song contains fantastic lyrics. It’s a story song, told as a second person narrative about the London Jazz experience and is based on Knopfler watching a band perform in a pub in Deptford, who called themselves The Sultans of Swing.
[Verse 1]
You get a shiver in the dark
It’s raining in the park, but meantime
South of the river, you stop
And you hold everything
A band is blowing Dixie, double-four time
You feel alright when you hear that music ring
[Verse 2]
Well, now you step inside
But you don’t see too many faces
Coming in out of the rain
To hear the jazz go down
Competition in other places
Ah, but the horns, they’re blowing that sound
[Refrain]
Way on down south
Way on down south, London town
[Verse 3]
You check out guitar George
He knows all the chords
Mind, it’s strictly rhythm
He doesn’t want to make it cry or sing
They’ve said an old guitar is all he can afford
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing
[Verse 4]
And Harry doesn’t mind
If he doesn’t make the scene
He’s got a daytime job
He’s doing alright
He can play the honky-tonk like anything
Saving it up for Friday night
[Refrain]
With the Sultans
With the Sultans of Swing
Yeah
[Verse 5]
And a crowd of young boys
They’re fooling around in the corner
Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies
And their platform soles
They don’t give a damn about any trumpet playing band
It ain’t what they call Rock and Roll
[Refrain]
And the Sultans
Yeah, the Sultans, they play Creole
Creole
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 6]
And then the man
He steps right up to the microphone
And says at last
Just as the time bell rings
“Goodnight, now it’s time to go home”
Then he makes it fast with one more thing
[Refrain]
“We are the Sultans
We are the Sultans of Swing”
The following information includes extracts from the Wikipedia reference below:
The single would go on to reach the top 5 in the United States as well as the top 10 in Australia and the United Kingdom. The song has since remained a staple of classic rock radio, and is one of the band’s most recognizable songs.
Interesting trivia fact for ‘us’ Aussies out there: ‘On 12 September 1980, Sultans of Swing was the first song to air on a commercial station on the FM radio band in South Australia as part of a test reel for radio station SA-FM.
Writing in 2013 on the impact of the song, Rick Moore of American Songwriter reflected:
With “Sultans of Swing” a breath of fresh air was exhaled into the airwaves in the late ’70s. Sure, Donald Fagen and Tom Waits were writing great lyrics about characters you’d love to meet and Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen were great guitar players. But Knopfler, he could do both things as well or better than anybody out there in his own way, and didn’t seem to have any obvious rock influences unless you try to include Dylan.
References:
1. Sultans of Swing – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Sure, Knopfler’s guitar work is pretty much without equal. I certainly never learned how to play this song. But, it’s the lyrics that make this one great for me. Like “Piano Man” or “Cat’s in the Cradle,” it’s a story song. A slice of life song.
He is one of the finest guitarists I have heard and the lyrics as you alluded send it to the stratosphere.