Walk of Life

For other uses, see Walk of Life (disambiguation).
"Walk of Life"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album Brothers in Arms
B-side
  • "One World"
  • "Two Young Lovers" (live)
Released 1985
Format 7" vinyl, CD
Length 4:12
Label
Writer(s) Mark Knopfler
Producer(s)
  • Mark Knopfler
  • Neil Dorfsman
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Brothers in Arms"
(1985)		 "Walk of Life"
(1985)		 "Your Latest Trick"
(1986)

"Walk of Life" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits from their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms (1985). It subsequently appeared on their live album On the Night (1993). It was released as a single in November 1985 but had first been available as the B-side of "So Far Away" released in advance of Brothers in Arms.

The track peaked at number seven in the US charts and was their biggest commercial hit in the UK, peaking at number two. The track also appeared on three compilation albums: 1988's Money for Nothing, 1998's Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, and 2005's The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations.

History

The song was nearly excluded from the album when the co-producer Neil Dorfsman voted against its inclusion, but the rest of the band out-voted him.

A simple rock and roll rhythm is used, with chord changes limited to I, IV and V chords. The long introduction has become iconic in some circles, with an instantly recognisable melody played on a synthesiser organ patch, giving it a slight Cajun twist. The singer mentioned in the lyrics 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.

B-sides

Having itself been used as a flip side for the European version of the "So Far Away" single, "Walk of Life" had many different B-sides across different formats of release in different territories. The two songs most commonly used were a live version of "Two Young Lovers", which had previously appeared on the 1983 EP ExtendedancEPlay and "One World", the eighth track from Brothers in Arms. A double Vinyl released in the UK in 1985 featured the band's 1978 breakthrough Top 10 single "Sultans of Swing", as well as live versions of "Two Young Lovers" and the rare song "Eastbound Train", one of the first tracks that Dire Straits recorded as a band in demo format but never appeared on an album or as a single.

Music video

The music video for the song shown in the UK features a busker or street musician wearing the same shirt as Mark Knopfler intercut with the band performing on a stage, while the US video features various sports highlights intercut with the performance footage.

The song's original recording was licensed for the soundtrack of a national television commercial promoting the diabetes drug Farxiga.[1]

In March 2016, Peter Salamone created The Walk of Life Project[2] to prove the hypothesis that '"Walk of Life" by Dire Straits is the perfect song to end any movie'.

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Walk of Life" – 4:07
  2. "One World" – 3:36
12" single
  1. "Walk of Life" – 4:07
  2. "Why Worry" (Instrumental) – 3:56
  3. "One World" – 3:36

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1985–86) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 11
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 32
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[6] 23
Canada (CHUM)[7] 12
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 7
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 15
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 3
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[14] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 24
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 2
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[17] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 7
US Billboard Top Rock Tracks[17] 6
US Cash Box[18] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Position
Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles)[19] 79
Chart (1986) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[20] 97
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[21] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 49
US Cash Box[23] 92

Preceded by
"The Sun Always Shines on T.V." by a-ha		 Irish Singles Chart number-one single
23 January 1986 – 29 January 1986 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Borderline" by Madonna

References

  1. ↑ Lifton, Dave. "Dire Straits' 'Walk of Life' Bolsters Farxiga Ad". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  2. ↑ The Walk of Life Project, retrieved 25 March 2016
  3. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Dire Straits – Walk of Life" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Dire Straits – Walk of Life" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 21 december 1985" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1493 – Saturday, August 03, 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0560." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Musicline.de – Dire Straits Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walk of Life". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dire Straits - Walk of Life search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Dire Straits – Walk of Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Dire Straits – Walk of Life". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (D)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Dire Straits – Walk of Life". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1986-01-25" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 "Brothers in Arms – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  18. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 1, 1986 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 October 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  19. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 43, No. 16, December 28 1985". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1986". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  23. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1986 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 October 2012). Cash Box magazine.
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