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This is perhaps the best track of the sophomore Straits album. Knopfler's journalistic background reveals itself through the clipped lines and it is from their simplicity that a raw, harrowing and stirring situation is conveyed. No more is this feature more effective than in the closing lines, "He's too fast to stop/He take it over the top/He make a line in the news," wherein the songwriter's attempt to communicate one of the more tragic aspects of the human condition is powerfully achieved. This aspect is that of perseverance and determination often leading to a grim denouement, simply due to the unpredictable way of the world. The use of cataphoric reference in relation to the 'he' and 'she' of the song is effective as it captures the anonymity of the situation which was paralleled by it only being covered in one line of a newspaper. We don't learn of the characters names, just as a reader of a newspaper would forget them several minutes afterwards.
Additionally, Knopfler's symbolic representation of the motorbike to emphasis the powerful but reckless determination of the central character is quite an accomplishment for a fledgling lyricist. His implementation of small details, such as the alliterative, 'he take a sniff of the street,' and the evocative, 'he's burning the grass/he take up a glass/he swallow it neat,' allows for the entirety of the situation to be etched into the listeners' mind. There is a wryness and a darkness in these lyrical details which foreshadow the tragic conclusion of the song, and give even more power to it upon its' arrival.
Perhaps from the first two Straits albums, only 'Lions' is stronger lyrically than this track, which is a quiet, understated masterpiece from Knopfler and is one of the main reasons why I fell in love with his style.
The music too is brilliant. The volume swell-violin emulation was put to no greater use than on this track, wherein its' somber tone colour implies that whatever problems our protagonist faces are to overcome him and also that his wife has been left at the fringe of destruction as a result. The silky tone of the rhythm guitar throughout and its' contrast with the harsher power chords at the conclusion is also powerful. The monophonic texture featuring only Wither's steady and intense (only Pick could prompt a writer to combine these two adjectives) in the outro is idiosyncratic within the context of the Straits discography and truly effective (not quite a 'blistering crescendo,' I agree, Pick
)
Also noteworthy is the whimpering in the intro - another foreshadowing of the conclusion and something which I have never seen discussed before.
Overall, an incredibly solid track and the epitome of the
cool,
wry sound of Communique.
