Sultans of Swing

This was the first song produced by the British rock band ‘Dire Straits‘ that reached the top 10 in the UK.

We can assume the song’s ‘story’ is that of a northern working-class jazz group who only want to play their distinctive sound in a small club, and don’t care how popular they are.
The album version of the song features a wonderful extended guitar solo played by Mark Knopfler. Knopfler improvised and expanded that solo many times during live performances.
Dire Straits‘ lyrics often contain a lot of humour, and show their ability to take themselves lightly, and not too seriously. Here, for instance, they call themselves ‘the Sultans of Swing’.
A sultan is an old-style title of a ruler, especially of a muslim country, but they mean they want to be the ‘kings’ of that style of music and is an amusing title to choose.
Swing music, especially jazz, has a strong exciting rhythm with notes of uneven length.
The song is arranged for two guitars, (Mark Knopfler on vocals and lead guitar, David Knopfler on rhythm guitar) a bass (John Illsley on the double bass), and a straightforward 4 / 4 beat on the drums, (played by Pick Withers).

Can you a) make out (= supply) the missing words and b) decide if you are happy with the punctuation of the words in bold?

You get a shiver in the ………………..¹
Its² been raining in the park but meantime
South of the river you stop and you hold ………………..³
A band is blowing dixie double four time
You feel ………………..⁴ right when you hear that music ring….

And now you step ………………..⁵ but you dont⁶ see too many faces
Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down
Too much competition in other places
But not too many horns can make that sound
Way (on) down south, way (on) down south london⁷ town

You check out Guitar George – he knows all the chords
Mind hes⁸ strictly rhythm he doesnt⁹ want to make it cry or sing
And an old guitar is all he can ………………..¹⁰
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing

And harry¹¹ ……………….. ………………………¹² if he ………………..¹³ make the scene
………………..¹⁴ got a daytime job ………………..¹⁵ doing alright
He can play the honky tonk like anything
Saving it up for friday¹⁶ night
With the sultans with the Sultans of Swing

And a crowd of young boys ………………..¹⁷ fooling around in the corner
Drunk and dressed in ………………..¹⁸ best brown baggies and ………………..¹⁸ platform soles
They dont¹⁹ give a damn about any trumpet-playing band
It ain’t* what they call rock and roll
And the sultans, yeah the sultans are playing creole…(creole!!…)

*isn’t

And then the man steps right up to the microphone
And says at last just as the ‘time’ bell rings
"goodnight, now ………………..²⁰ time to go home"
And he makes it fast with one more thing
We are the Sultans of Swing …..

Vocabulary

Answers