"Walk of Life" is a song by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

, the third track on 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 October 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, becoming their third and last top ten hit. It was their biggest commercial hit in the UK (along with "

Private Investigations "Private Investigations" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits from their album ''Love over Gold''. It reached number 2 in the United Kingdom (despite its length), and is one of their biggest chart successes in the UK. The track ha ...

"), 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

Mark Knopfler had not originally intended "Walk of Life" for the album, but rather as a b-side to one of the singles. Dire Straits manager

Ed Bicknell Ed Bicknell is a British music manager and drummer, best known for managing rock band Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Gerry Rafferty, Bryan Ferry, Scott Walker and The Blue Nile. Career Ed Bicknell was Chairman of Hull University entertainment’ ...

heard it when it was being mixed and convinced Knopfler to include it on the album at the last minute. A simple

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

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

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

played on a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

-driven

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

with hints of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. The singer mentioned in the lyrics, "Johnny," is said to perform "down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay," a reference to

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

in the subway. The songs he plays are

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

, including " I Got a Woman," " Be-Bop-A-Lula," "

What'd I Say "What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...

," " My Sweet Lovin' Woman," and "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

." He also plays

talking blues Talking blues is a form of folk music and country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict. Christopher Allen Bouchillon, billed as "The Talking Comedian of the South", is cr ...

. Two music videos were produced for "Walk of Life," the first video features the band playing the song in concert while the character Johnny is playing 1950s songs in a tunnel, the second video features the band playing with clips of sports bloopers.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that song recalls "the band’s ’50s rock infatuation first heard on '

Twisting by the Pool Twisting by the Pool is a 1983 song by British rock band Dire Straits which appears on ''ExtendedancEPlay''. It was released as a single in 1983, peaking at No. 1 in New Zealand, No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. 12 on the US ''Billboar ...

,'" but that it "is a more profound but equally energetic effort." ''Cash Box'' later said that "a light sound is balanced by a meaningful lyric and wrapped in trademark Knopfler guitar accents." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said that "Knopfler and friends bob out to a

cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

track that might have sounded weird if

Rockin' Sidney Sidney Simien (April 9, 1938 – February 25, 1998), known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death. He is best known for his ...

hadn't broken the ice."

Track listings

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

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1985 singles 1985 songs Dire Straits songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by Mark Knopfler Songs written by Mark Knopfler Vertigo Records singles Warner Records singles Music videos directed by Stephen R. Johnson