DIRE STRAITS - LADY WRITER

LADY WRITER

DIRE STRAITS

SONGWRITER: MARK KNOPFLER

COUNTRY: U. K.

ALBUM: COMMUNIQUÉ

LABEL: VERTIGO

GENRE: ROCK

YEAR: 1979

"Lady Writer" is a 1979 song by Dire Straits, which appears on the band's second album Communiqué.

When asked what the song was about, lead Singer Mark Knopfler said that he was watching TV one day, and there was a lady writer on the TV, and that's basically where the idea for the song came from. Because the song says the writer is "talking about the Virgin Mary", some have speculated that the writer in question is Marina Warner, a view shared by Warner herself.

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 percussion). They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1991 to 1995. The band became one of the world's best-selling music artists, with album sales of over 100 million.

Their first hit single "Sultans of Swing", from their self-titled debut album released in 1978, reached the top ten in the US chart and became a top ten hit in the UK the following year. The band released several hit singles in the 1980s, such as "Romeo and Juliet" (1981), "Private Investigations" (1982), "Twisting by the Pool" (1983), "Money for Nothing" (1985), and "Walk of Life" (1986). Their most commercially successful album was Brothers in Arms (1985), which has sold more than 30 million copies and was the first album to sell a million copies on the compact disc (CD) format. Dire Straits' sound was drawn from a wide variety of musical influences including jazz, folk, and country, as well as the blues-rock of J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton. Their stripped-down sound contrasted with punk rock and demonstrated a roots rock influence that emerged from pub rock.

Lady Writer on the TV

Talk about the Virgin Mary

Reminded me of you

Expectations left to come up to yeah

Lady writer on the TV

Yeah, she had another quality

The way you used to look

And I know you never read a book

Just the way that her hair fell down around her face

Then I recall my fall from grace

Another time, another place

Lady writer on the TV

She had all the brains and the beauty

The picture does not fit

You talked to me when you felt like it

Just the way that her hair fell down around her face

Then I recall my fall from grace

Another time, another place

Yes and your rich old man

You know he'd call her a dead ringer

You got the same command

Plus you mother was a jazz singer

Just the way that her hair fell down around her face

Then I recall my fall from grace

Another time, another place

Lady writer on the TV

She knew all about a history

You couldn't hardly write your name

I think I want you just the same as the

Lady writer on the TV

Talking about the Virgin Mary

Yeah you know I'm talking about you and me

And the lady writer on the TV

Lady writer on the TV

Talking about the Virgin Mary

Yeah you know I'm talking about you and me

And the lady writer on the TV.