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Telegraph Road

Doug Watt
@DougWatt
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There is a back story to the 1982 Dire Straits song Telegraph Road. A back story that still resonates in today's political world of job promises, and a divide between those who work with their hands and those who believe that the only road to success comes from a college degree.

An early photo of Telegraph Road from Dearborn schools.

The little known story of Telegraph Road’s origins | STOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL

"The Telegraph Road is a major north-south, 70-mile thoroughfare in Michigan. Mark Knopfler was inspired to write this song while riding in the front of the tour bus, which made the journey down Telegraph Road. At the time, Knopfler was reading the novel The Growth Of the Soil by the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun and he was inspired to put the 2 together and write a song about the beginning of the development along Telegraph Road and the changes over the ensuing decades. This was a metaphor for the development of America and the ruining of one man's dreams in the wake of its decline, in particular focusing on unemployment." - From Songfacts®

Dire Straits' live performances were as good, perhaps even better live than their studio recordings. I'm not going to say that there are no benefits to a college education. I had some great professors in college, but none of them were on speed dial when the air conditioner crapped out in Arizona or if I needed to keep my car on the road. In my own way, I'm a snob. I'd rather have a conversation with a rancher in the Oregon Outback than with someone who goes to Davos or a conference in Aspen every year.

I used to like to go to work, but they shut it down I've got a right to go to work, but there's no work here to be found Yes, and they say we're gonna have to pay what's owed We're gonna have to reap from some seed that's been sowed"- lyrics from Telegraph Road

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Discussion (15)

  • Bob Thompson@BobThompson
    Doug Watt (View Post):

    There is a back story to the 1982 Dire Straits song Telegraph Road. A back story that still resonates in today’s political world of job promises, and a divide between those who work with their hands and those who believe that the only road to success comes from a college degree.

    There's more back story to this topic than how we got a good song!

  • LC@LidensCheng
    One of the many impressive things about Knopfler is how well he can capture the Americana feeling in his songs, despite being oh so English. He does it a lot in his solo career. But Telegraph Road is certainly a Dire Straits masterpiece. I think that Alchemy performance is even better than Sultans at the same concert, which is saying a lot.
  • James Lileks@jameslileks

    Then there was the hard times / then there was a war

    I don't know why, but the song, the delivery, that line, just contained so much. Nice economy.

    The lyrics you quoted came from an era when de-industrialization and the economic opportunities of the previous generation seemed lost for good - Springsteen in My Hometown, Billy Joel in Allentown. We forget how the 80s pop was often contrary to the Morning in America vibe. If someone sang Welcome to the Boomtown, it was meant with bitter sarcasm.

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