DIRE STRAITS - SULTANS OF SWING

SULTANS OF SWING

DIRE STRAITS

SONGWRITERS: MARK KNOPFLER & JOHN ILLSLEY

COUNTRY: U.K.

ALBUM: DIRE STRAITS

LABEL: VERTIGO RECORDS

GENRE: SOFT ROCK

YEAR: 1978

Dire Straits é o álbum de estreia da extinta banda de rock inglesa Dire Straits, lançado em 1978. As suas principais músicas compostas por Mark knopfler e John Illsley de sucesso são "Down to the Waterline", "Water of Love" e "Sultans of Swing".

"Sultans of Swing" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits from their eponymous debut album, which band frontman Mark Knopfler wrote and composed. Although it was first released in 1978, it was its 1979 re-release that caused it to become a hit in both the UK and U.S.

The song was first recorded as a demo at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977 and quickly acquired a following after it was put on rotation at Radio London. Its popularity soon reached record executives, and Dire Straits 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. The record company wanted a less-polished rock sound for the radio, so an alternative version was recorded at Pathway Studios in April 1978 and released as the single in some countries including the United Kingdom and Germany.

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

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

But the horns be blowing that sound

Way on downsouth way on downsouth london town

You check out guitar george he knows all the chords

Mind he's strictly rhythm

He doesn't want to make it cry or sing

And an old guitar is all he can afford

When he gets up under lights to play his thing

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 honky tonk like anything

Saving it up for friday night

With the sultans... with the sultans of swing

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

And the sultans... yea the sultans played creole ...creole

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'

And he makes it fast with one more thing

'we are the sultans... we are the sultans of swing'