(16) Matchstick Man

[shangri la 1]

Matchstick Man  Mark Knopfler (2:52)
Mark Knopfler, Guitar, Vocals

LYRICS

So there he was then, Penzance to play
Christmas Eve in a nowhere band
Now early morning Christmas Day
He’s hitching home to Geordieland

Last night the snow came, just my luck
And who the hell do you think you are
Climbing up into that truck
With your old bag and your guitar

And you, you would-be vagabond
No-one invited you, you know
Matchstick man, up in the dawn
You’ve got five hundred miles to go

The driver now must drop off his load
The snow still laying thick on the ground
Leaves him on a high crossroads
Where he can see for miles around

The sun is shining, sky is blue
And everything is white and bare
Not a car comes into view
There’s nothing moving anywhere

And you, you would-be vagabond
No-one invited you, you know
Matchstick man, you speck upon
These vast and silent plains of snow

© © 2018 Will D. Side Limited
℗ 2018 Will D. Side Limited

CHORDS: Matchstick Man - by quizzaciously
https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/mark_knopfler/matchstick_man_chords_2518788

[Jules]

Another personal memory that poignantly captures Mark Knopfler as he was, and as he remains. “That’s me,” he confesses readily, “a young idiot with a guitar and a bag, climbing up into trucks and hitchhiking. I was trying to get back from a Christmas Eve gig in Penzance early on Christmas Day. I thought I’d hitch home. I don’t think I really knew it was 500 miles from there.”

“I got a lift up the old A1 and he let me off at a high crossroads in the Midlands. The sun was shining, there was snow everywhere and I could see for miles. There was nothing moving anywhere. I’m standing there with my guitar case and bag and this realization of what I’d chosen to do with my life. To me, it was exactly what I wanted to do. It’s just a snapshot of me then. From the air I would have been a tiny matchstick figure in this vastness of snow with his dream of being a musician.”

“You need some energy to make these things happen,” he concludes. “You’re not going to last if you haven’t got enough to get you through all the tougher times. I feel the same way I always felt. When I come in here and I see a couple of guitars in the corner, I get the same buzz that I had when I was a kid, and you’ve got to have that. It’s almost a childish attitude that keeps you fired up about turning up.”

[Robson]

Mark returns to this story. We heard about it the first time at River Towns...

[Jules]

Mark returns to this story. We heard about it the first time at River Towns...

Do you have a reference to that? All i read about that song is that is about a story he read by a writer that ended up commiting suicide...

[qjamesfloyd]

I think what Robson means is that Mark told this story about himself while talking about what the song River Towns is about, relating that you have to be compelled to do what you do, and the fact that that incident cemented his desire to become a musician. So, it is not the same subject as River Towns, but he told the story which is now Matchstick Man, then.

[Love Expresso]

Plus being alone somewhere on Christmas Eve like the character in River Towns, wasn't it?

LE

[Robson]

I think what Robson means is that Mark told this story about himself while talking about what the song River Towns is about, relating that you have to be compelled to do what you do, and the fact that that incident cemented his desire to become a musician. So, it is not the same subject as River Towns, but he told the story which is now Matchstick Man, then.

Exactly. He talks about it on the DVD Tracker. Of course, River Towns does not say that, I think that Matchstick Man will be more personal

[qjamesfloyd]

It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.

[Jules]

It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.

Who knows. The story behind Matchstick man is quite old, I had heard it many times before River Towns, probably is written in the Michael Oldfield biography too, who knows, maybe it has the song written from very very long ago, or maybe you are right.

[Robson]

It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.

Who knows. The story behind Matchstick man is quite old, I had heard it many times before River Towns, probably is written in the Michael Oldfield biography too, who knows, maybe it has the song written from very very long ago, or maybe you are right.

I do not remember any similar story from Oldfield's book

[quizzaciously]

Another personal memory that poignantly captures Mark Knopfler as he was, and as he remains. “That’s me,” he confesses readily, “a young idiot with a guitar and a bag, climbing up into trucks and hitchhiking. I was trying to get back from a Christmas Eve gig in Penzance early on Christmas Day. I thought I’d hitch home. I don’t think I really knew it was 500 miles from there.”

“I got a lift up the old A1 and he let me off at a high crossroads in the Midlands. The sun was shining, there was snow everywhere and I could see for miles. There was nothing moving anywhere. I’m standing there with my guitar case and bag and this realization of what I’d chosen to do with my life. To me, it was exactly what I wanted to do. It’s just a snapshot of me then. From the air I would have been a tiny matchstick figure in this vastness of snow with his dream of being a musician.”

“You need some energy to make these things happen,” he concludes. “You’re not going to last if you haven’t got enough to get you through all the tougher times. I feel the same way I always felt. When I come in here and I see a couple of guitars in the corner, I get the same buzz that I had when I was a kid, and you’ve got to have that. It’s almost a childish attitude that keeps you fired up about turning up.”

Well that's poetic. Also, credits for the song suggests that it's a solo piece AND the last song on the record. It must be good, no other choices then! Could've made it to the tittle of the album, but...

[Billy’s Tune]

Where are you picking these snippets up from? Is there an interview I’ve missed or some updated liner notes?

[Jules]

Where are you picking these snippets up from? Is there an interview I’ve missed or some updated liner notes?

Check the information about the record thread.

[Billy’s Tune]

Ah ha! I’d not seen that. Thank yoooouu.

[Jules]

It is possible that Mark telling that story again prompted him to write Matchstick Man.

Who knows. The story behind Matchstick man is quite old, I had heard it many times before River Towns, probably is written in the Michael Oldfield biography too, who knows, maybe it has the song written from very very long ago, or maybe you are right.

I do not remember any similar story from Oldfield's book

Of course not, because it's not in that book but in Myles Palmer unauthorized biography.