Mark returns to this story. We heard about it the first time at River Towns...
I think what Robson means is that Mark told this story about himself while talking about what the song River Towns is about, relating that you have to be compelled to do what you do, and the fact that that incident cemented his desire to become a musician. So, it is not the same subject as River Towns, but he told the story which is now Matchstick Man, then.
It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.
It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.
Who knows. The story behind Matchstick man is quite old, I had heard it many times before River Towns, probably is written in the Michael Oldfield biography too, who knows, maybe it has the song written from very very long ago, or maybe you are right.
Another personal memory that poignantly captures Mark Knopfler as he was, and as he remains. “That’s me,” he confesses readily, “a young idiot with a guitar and a bag, climbing up into trucks and hitchhiking. I was trying to get back from a Christmas Eve gig in Penzance early on Christmas Day. I thought I’d hitch home. I don’t think I really knew it was 500 miles from there.”
“I got a lift up the old A1 and he let me off at a high crossroads in the Midlands. The sun was shining, there was snow everywhere and I could see for miles. There was nothing moving anywhere. I’m standing there with my guitar case and bag and this realization of what I’d chosen to do with my life. To me, it was exactly what I wanted to do. It’s just a snapshot of me then. From the air I would have been a tiny matchstick figure in this vastness of snow with his dream of being a musician.”
“You need some energy to make these things happen,” he concludes. “You’re not going to last if you haven’t got enough to get you through all the tougher times. I feel the same way I always felt. When I come in here and I see a couple of guitars in the corner, I get the same buzz that I had when I was a kid, and you’ve got to have that. It’s almost a childish attitude that keeps you fired up about turning up.”
Where are you picking these snippets up from? Is there an interview I’ve missed or some updated liner notes?
It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.
Who knows. The story behind Matchstick man is quite old, I had heard it many times before River Towns, probably is written in the Michael Oldfield biography too, who knows, maybe it has the song written from very very long ago, or maybe you are right.
I do not remember any similar story from Oldfield's book :think
I suspected so:)
I stay with my idea that a complete album with Mark in acoustic alone would be songwriter's heaven..
When I listen to songs like this one with parts clearly like "heart of oak" I always think:
-he didn't notice about it?
-nobody else, like his producer notice about it?
-if so, nobody tells him he's repeating himself?
-did he mind about it?
After the first three listens I totally forgot about Heart Of Oak.. I love this song so much. His voice sounds awesome. I admit that it is a melody that is able to make me cry... beautiful last track.
LE
the whole album is full of already known parts and melodiesThat's the point, I think.
that's probably why he/they chose to have a different background groove/drums/rythm, to sound fresh and new, and they succeeded
To end an album full of rhythm, synths, drums and brass this way: Art!
What a wonderful song this is...
LE
He told in the interview that he likes to play it live. Would be an amazing closer! Just Mark on stage. Lets hope he does it!
Am I the only one who detects a certain irony in the fact that MK refers to himself as a "Matchstick Man" exactly in the time when we all detect a certain increase of "volume" with him? ;D
LE
Heart of Oak is far from "just" being a cricket song. Lyrically and musically, it's a masterpiece.
Matchstick Man suffers from a pretty shiftless melody (as the whole new album does). Plus there are a lot of mouth/tongue sounds on it which makes it almost unbearable for me to listen to it in the meantime.
LE
Although I like Matchstick Man for being a very personal song, I don't find either the melody or the guitar playing as beautiful as Heart of Oak, which, although short, was just about perfect.
I have a question to all the lyrics experts out there...
Why Mark wrote this song from the third person perspective? Isn't that quite strange? It's like I'd write this post like this:
He asks why Mark wrote this song from the third person perspective? He asks because you know that the song is about MK.
I don't like the narrative used in this song... the third person usually works better than a first person, but if you mix it... it's kind of weird.
Speaking about yourself in third person in literature is a stylistic device known as "illeism" and can be used for different reasons, google it if interested. One reason mentioned is this:
Illeism is also a device used to show idiocy, as with the character Mongo in Blazing Saddles, e.g. "Mongo like candy" and "Mongo only pawn in game of life" (Note also the lack of articles and verb inflection in both sentences)[citation needed]; though it may also show innocent simplicity, as it does with Harry Potter's Dobby the Elf ("Dobby has come to protect, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door").
He described himself as a naive but idealistic fool who does not know how many miles it were back home and so on. The song is written from the perspective of looking back from a wiser age to those very young years. To me it absolutely felt natural that MK used the third person view, funnily. I am sure MK knows a bit about illeisms.
LE