(10) Beryl (3:10)

[superval99]

Lots of old amiters posting today - some of which haven't been around for a while - it's great to see you all, but on the other hand, it is sad somehow to see you not in "normal" times.. :-) just a little thought of me, please don't feel offended!

LE

I'm one of them, you make me feel guilty ...  It's not that I wouldn't enjoy posting here all day, it's just that 2014 was a crazy busy year and I simply didn't find the time. But of course the arrival of the new track makes everything else seem totally unimportant, so here I am!

Welcome back, Rail King and all the others who haven't been here lately!   

[cannibals]

I've been away for a few day's and look what has happened  I can not find the song on youtube anymore. Can someone help me out here 

[LoveExpresso]

Yes! Good to see you all! 
Imagine what will happen when the album is out..
 

LE

[cannibals]

Thanks Stefan!! Great song!!!

[Rail King]

Listened two "Beryl" all night yesterday, and love it. Yes, the lyrics are simple, but I don't mind. Little ditties like this have their place in his body of work, I think, just as something like "So Far from the Clyde" does, with it's many verses. For me, "Beryl" doesn't quite have the emotional depth of "Redbud Tree" or "True Love Will Never Fade", but I think the lighthearted tune is an interesting contrast to the sad story it tells. I don't think I can remember another Knopfler track that works like that.

The keyboards are obviously borrowed from "Who's Your Baby Now", and one guitar lick from "True Love", but that's fine. Better to steal from yourself than from others (like a certain Mr. Zimmerman ). And although some of you have complained about it, I actually like the way Ianto ends the song. Sounds like hammering the nails into Beryl's coffin.

Conclusion: "Beryl" is just fine and perfect to please Dire Straits nostalgics on the radio, but I'm sure there are greater things to come with that album. I'm getting really excited about it.

[holaknopfler]

Very nice words Rail King! And yes LE, good to see everyone catching up again here, that's what makes this group so great! A new album is coming and suddenly everyone appears! He should bring out more stuff..:-)

[Rail King]

By the way, did you know that there's another Beryl who didn't get the applause she deserved during her lifetime? And her name is

[LoveExpresso]

Rail King, you nailed it perfectly. Couldn't say it any better (no wonder) - the part with the lightness of the song most of all: Mark the man who wrote many songs with (too) many words  - Sonny Liston, Sultans(!), Telegraph Road, 5.15 am,  and so on, must be allowed to try the simple form as well. I must admit I also listened to it last night a LOT.. 20 times or so at least - but the beginning has such magic, you must repeat - also the keypbard is annoying more and more, because it is so ... uninspired.. It is exactly the same notes as on Punish The Monkey and I believe on Do America (could be wrong). so it is indeed
Guy once again who nearly spoils a song with his keyboard addition.

The lyrics are simple, yes, but some of the lines are really gripping. And the melody MK sings is very nice, too.

Rail King, the coffin/nail thing is pretty amazing, as Punish The Monkey has also the coffin/nail picture in it.

LE

[superval99]

By the way, did you know that there's another Beryl who didn't get the applause she deserved during her lifetime? And her name is

[LoveExpresso]

Yes, about Beryl Booker - I found her, too, on Wikipedia last night. And it is somehow strange/funny that her family name is BOOKER, but I think the tobacco line in the lyrics make it pretty clear that Mark means Beryl Bainbridge with this song... but maybe, who knows, both names might have resonated in Mark's mind..

(I also often like to think that he heard the name "Redbud Tree" maybe in a conversation with Bob or during an American tour leg or maybe saw one and was told these trees are called Redbud Trees, and automatically the pure sounding of the word made him think Redbud Tree, shelter me, shelter me, and off his songwriting sould went and the rest was simple... same with Dog eat Dog, rat eat rat, when it comes to EATING at McDonalds and the line in Ray Krocs book.. so this might be the initial word for it, as Booker and Booker price might be for Beryl - and he is married to a writer and loves literature.. but I am going off topic too much.. )

So, Beryl, the first Non-Smoker-Song about a writer in Mark's universe, after Harry in In The Gallery and the Artist in Let It All Go... now we have Beryl!

LE

[superval99]

Yes, about Beryl Booker - I found her, too, on Wikipedia last night. And it is somehow strange/funny that her family name is BOOKER, but I think the tobacco line in the lyrics make it pretty clear that Mark means Beryl Bainbridge with this song... LE

....and the fact that she was overlooked for The Booker Prize, until after her death.

[LoveExpresso]

 You can never read enough books, can't you, and I love literature and books for all my life, I read and have read a lot, and I work in a book store for more than 15 years now, but I never came across Beryl Bainbridge (in Gemany). So I like to ask the Brits maybe if she is really that famous for not being famous..

The first association I had with (edit: the name)  Bainbridge was from the movie "12 Angry Men" when "The Amazing Mrs. Bainbridge" was the name of a movie and one juror used it to give an example for how good his memory is...

There are some books of here available in German translation, but as I said, never read her, never heard of her, never noticed her.

LE

[superval99]

You can never read enough books, can't you, and I love literature and books for all my life, I read and have read a lot, and I work in a book store for more than 15 years now, but I never came across Beryl Bainbridge (in Gemany). So I like to ask the Brits maybe if she is really that famous for not being famous..

The first association I had with Bainbridge was from the movie "12 Angry Men" when "The Amazing Mrs. Bainbridge" was the name of a movie and one juror used it to give an example for how good his memory is...

There are some books of here available in German translation, but as I said, never read her, never heard of her, never noticed her.

LE

Yes, I have known about her for years, mainly because she was from Liverpool and so am I, but I am ashamed to say that I have never read one of her books, even though I am an avid book reader.  Maybe I should start reading her books now - another thing MK has introduced me to!   

[Zeraschkulidar]

I've heard it now several times - also very loud in my car. And after a few times one thing came into my mind: if you put Beryl as track no. 6 on the Communique album you'd probably think it has always been there. It feels like back to the roots.   

[dmg]

First of all he writes his songs about books, now authors!  What next, a song about Harper Collins?