Brothers in Arms (song)

"Brothers in Arms" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, the closing track on their fifth studio album of the same name. It was written in 1982, the year of Britain's involvement in the Falklands War. In 2007, the 25th anniversary of the war, Knopfler recorded a new version of the song at Abbey Road Studios to raise funds for British veterans who he said "are still suffering from the effects of that conflict."[1] "Brothers in Arms" has become a favourite at military funerals.[2]

"Brothers in Arms"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album Brothers in Arms
B-side
Released14 October 1985
StudioAIR (Montserrat)
Genre Rock
Length
LabelVertigo
Songwriter(s)Mark Knopfler
Producer(s)
  • Neil Dorfsman
  • Mark Knopfler
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Money for Nothing"
(1985)		 "Brothers in Arms"
(1985)		 "Walk of Life"
(1985)

Background

This melancholic song was written during the Falkland War, and is described by some as an anti-war song; though more accurately, it curates the experience of soldiers in wartime, and their need for solidarity; which in the final stanza includes their "Brothers" on the other side of the trenches. The war time motif is rather underwritten; but more offered as a natural backdrop ("these mist covered mountains"), increasingly marked by destruction ("these fields of destruction - Baptisms of fire") and death ("Now the sun's gone to hell - And the moon's riding high - Let me bid you farewell - Every man has to die"), suggesting the insanity of war: "We're fools to make war - On our brothers in arms." Mark Knopfler explains that the song is sung by a soldier dying on the battlefield; as a real singer he has to immerse himself, so to speak, in his view and feelings.[3] In the first two verses the dying soldier's speaks to his own comrades, i.e. the "brothers in arms". Only in the final line does it become clear that all enemy soldiers are included within "brothers in arms".

History

There are two studio recorded versions of this song: the album version which is 6:55 minutes, and the shorter version which is 6:05 minutes and features slightly different (and shorter) solos at the beginning and end of the song. The version that appears on Dire Straits' greatest hits album, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, is 4:55. The version included on the live album On the Night contains an extra pedal steel guitar solo and is 8:55. The full-length, studio album version (6:55) was also included on the 2005 compilation Private Investigations.

Mark Knopfler recorded and usually played the song on a Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar, rather than his usual Fender "Stratocaster",[4] and the sunburst Les Paul appears in the distinctive promo video, which is in the style of a charcoal drawing, interspersing scenes of the band playing with scenes of war. During Dire Straits' 1992 "On Every Street" tour, Knopfler used his Pensa-Suhr MK1 for this song, like most of the others.

"Brothers in Arms" was first released as a single on 14 October 1985.[5] The song is reported to be the first CD single ever released;[6] it was released in the United Kingdom in 1986.

The song's lyrics, influence, and impact were discussed from a variety of musical and personal perspectives in the BBC radio programme and podcast Soul Music first broadcast in September 2012.[7]

Music video

The music video uses rotoscoping and shows the band performing, overlaid with images of the First World War.[8] In contrast with the at-that-time very modern clip in "Money for Nothing", the video clip has a very classic appearance in noisy black and white images.[9]

"Brothers in Arms" won Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards on 24 February 1987.

Use as soundtrack for films and TV series

The song appeared in the second-season episode "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" of Miami Vice, the third-season episode "I Coulda Been a Defendant" of Due South, and the second season finale of The West Wing, "Two Cathedrals".[10] In each instance, it is used over the climactic scenes of the episode. It was also featured in the 1991 film McBain, the 2001 movie Spy Game and most recently in the series finale, "START", of The Americans as well as the episode "Say Again Your Last" in SEAL Team. It was used as the title music to the 1992 BBC drama series Civvies. The song also appeared in the series finale of Supernatural (American TV series).

Track listings

7" single (DSTR 11)

  1. "Brothers in Arms" - 6:04
  2. "Going Home (Theme of the Local Hero)" (Live) - 4:45

12" Maxi-Single (DSTR 1112)

  1. "Brothers in Arms" (Full Length Version) - 6:58
  2. "Going Home (Theme of the Local Hero)" (Live) - 4:45
  3. "Why Worry" (Instrumental Segment)

Charts
Chart (1985/88) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 16
Irish Singles Chart 10
Polish Single Chart[11] 1
Dutch Top 40 59[12]
Australian Singles Chart 57
New Zealand Singles Chart 5

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[13] Gold 45,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

See also

References
  1. "New version of 'Brothers in Arms' to raise funds for Falklands veterans". Fundraising.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. Producer: Lucy Lunt (18 September 2012). "Brothers in Arms". Soul Music: Series 14 Episode 4 of 5. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  3. Beviglia, Jim (29 June 2015). "Lyric of the Week: Dire Straits, "Brothers in Arms"". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  4. "Guitar Stories: Mark Knopfler on the Six Guitars That Shaped His Career". Open Culture. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  5. "Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms". Ultratop. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  6. "Keith Hirsch's CD Resource » Blog Archive » The first CD Single: Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms"". keithhirsch.com.
  7. Producer: Lucy Lunt (18 September 2012). "Brothers in Arms". Soul Music: Series 14 Episode 4 of 5. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  8. chaddi. "Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms Original". Dailymotion.
  9. "Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits Songfacts". songfacts.com.
  10. "Brothers in Arms: the sound of The West Wing, Brothers in Arms, Series 14, Soul Music - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  11. "Lista Przebojów Programu 3" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  12. dutchcharts.nl Archived 25 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Danish single certifications – Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  14. "British single certifications – Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  15. "Discography: Recently". joanbaez.com. Joan Baez. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  16. "Discography: Brothers in Arms". joanbaez.com. Joan Baez. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  17. "McBain (1991): Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  18. "2007-10-27 Metallica Bridge School Benefit". Metallica.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  19. "Dermot O'Leary presents The Saturday Sessions". Music @ The Digital Fix. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRGOF0-mORQ
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