Quotes by Mark Knopfler

“My idea of heaven is a place where the Tyne meets the Delta, where folk music meets the blues”

“Sometimes youre the window; Sometimes youre the bug.”

“Everybody has their own ideas of Shangri-La ... I tried to teach myself to enjoy the present, enjoy the now,”

“Emmy brings such a wealth of experience that its like a director having the finest actress for a film. What is on the page is given a real living dimension and a character who you can see.”

“As soon as you hear her taking the line, you see the character. Shes not just a girl singing anymore; shes much more representative of something female. I think thats a depth that comes from her massive experience and ability.”

We prayed these wars would end all wars --In war we know is no romance.)

Theres so many different worlds, so many different suns. And we have just one world, but we live in different ones.

We prayed these wars would end all wars --In war we know is no rom

The drinking dens are spilling outTheres staggering in the squareTheres lads and lasses falling aboutAnd a crackling in the airDown around the dungeon doorsThe shelters and the queuesEverybodys looking forSomebodys arms to fall intoAnd its what it isIts what it is nowTheres frost on the graves and the monumentsBut the taverns are warm in townPeople curse the governmentAnd shovel hot food downThe lights are out in the city hallThe castle and the keepThe moon shines down upon it allThe legless and asleepAnd its cold on the tollgateWith the wagons creeping throughCold on the tollgateGod knows what I could do with youAnd its what it isIts what it is nowThe garrison sleeps in the citadelWith the ghosts and the ancient stonesHigh up on the parapetA Scottish piper stands aloneAnd high on the windThe highland drums begin to rollAnd something from the past just comesAnd stares into my soulAnd its cold on the tollgateWith the Caledonian BluesCold on the tollgateGod knows what I could do with youAnd its what it isIts what it is nowWhat it isIts what it is nowTheres a chink of light, theres a burning wickTheres a lantern in the towerWee Willie Winkie with a candlestickStill writing songs in the wee wee hoursOn Charlotte Street I takeA walking stick from my hotelThe ghost of Dirty DickIs still in search of Little NellAnd its what it isIts what it is nowOh what it isWhat it is now

This empty kitchens whereId while away the hoursJust next to my old chairYoud usually have some flowersThe shelves of booksEven the picture hooksEverything is goneBut my heart is hanging onIf this old neighborhoodSurvived us both alrightDont know that it withstoodAll the things that took our lightYou on the stairI can see you thereEverything is goneBut my heart is hanging onOnce there was a little girlUsed to wonder what she would beWent out into the big wide worldNow shes just a memoryThere used to be a little school hereWhere I learned to write my nameBut time has been a little cruel hereTime has no shameIts just a place whereWe used to liveIts just a place whereWe used to liveNow in another townYou lead another lifeAnd now upstairs and downYoure someone elses wifeHere in the dustTheres not a trace of usEverything is goneBut my heart is hanging onIts just a place whereWe used to liveIts just a place whereWe used to live.

I’m a maker of ballads right prettyI write them right here in the streetYou can buy them all over the cityyours for a penny a sheetI’m a word pecker out of the printersout of the dens of Gin LaneI’ll write up a scene on a counter- confessions and sins in the main, boysconfessions and sins in the mainThen you’ll find me in Madame Geneva’skeeping the demons at bayThere’s nothing like gin for drowning them inbut they’ll always be back on a hanging day, on a hanging dayThey come rattling over the cobblesthey sit on their coffins of blackSome are struck dumb, some gabbletop-heavy on brandy or sackThe pews are all full of fine fellowsand the hawker has set up her shopAs they’re turning them off at the gallowsshe’ll be selling right under the drop, boysselling right under the dropThen you’ll find me in Madame Geneva’skeeping the demons at bayThere’s nothing like gin for drowning them inbut they’ll always be back on a hanging day, on a hanging day

Juliet, the dice were loaded from the start. / When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

I dont know whether your heart ever necessarily changes, but time changes the way that you perceive the world. And you just hope it gives you more empathy and all those other things.

There happened to be guitar classes at the college, and there was a guitar teacher there with whom I used to play. In addition, I also would go out into country schools and teach little kids basic guitar and singing a few times a week.

My idea of heaven is a place where the Tyne meets the Delta, where folk music meets the blues.

The music just tends to be a vehicle for that poetry.