It seems pretty obvious, that this part of the song, is about Prince


"See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that's his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he's a millionaire"

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ad27tmHBz4

Personally, I like the words to the song (still one of my least fav Straits tracks though) and people who know Knofler know this ain't a mean dig at Prince, but it is funny all the same someone would say those words or something along those lines

What do you all think of it at the time? Did anyone notice it?

i have 2 disagree....at the time, I read it as a dig on themselves and plenty of others -maybe including Prince, but not specifically about him.

Knopfler should never have used that word.

Not familiar with the song-but where r they now??

It's not obviously about Prince. The line could have been about any male pop/rock star of the 80's. A dude who wears makeup and and an earring? Prince? George Michael? Billy Idol? Motley Crue (or any number of pther heavy metal or hair bands)? Boy George? Who knows?

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that that lyric is obviously about Prince.

paisley16 said:

Sorry i should of said. Knopfler heard a guy in a tv store one day, watching MTV. So mark jotted down, or remembered, some of what the man was saying about the videos on MTV. Thats why the words have a dialogue sort of feel.

skywalker said:

I reckon it is. Song came out in late 1984, he mentions "little", which is also a giveaway. and "...thats his own hair", as Prince's hair back then was wackier then anyone's. Its not a biting social commentary of then MTV, but I just get the feeling someone would diss a femme black man like Prince, moreso then George Michael, Poison et all.....

sexxydancer said:

The lead singer, Mark Knopfler disbanded the group after 1991's "on every street". He was dire straits. He wrote the songs, played guitar and sang on them of course.


Infact, if you want to play the stupid "who's more popular" game, "brothers in arms" outsold "purple rain", but really who cares?


I can say this though, he is a legend on guitar. Prince is great and all, but to play electric, that well with no plectrum, is hard as hell, well at least it is to an axeman like me. He is one of the best of all time.

I always find him very underated. As a songwriter (dylan influence is pretty big though, not that that is a bad thing) and of course, as a guitar player.

Music mags hate the group for whatever reason.

I'd heard it was Adam Ant.

viewaskew said:

Hmmm, i never thought of him, but he fits the bill perfectly aswell. I should of stated "i assumed it was a Prince dig", as yes, it is not that obvious when you think about it more LOL

coolcat said:

In England, its not offensive at all really, and remember, Dire Straits are English.

thesexofit said:

Ok. I didn't realize that. Thanks. So it just means homosexual in England? The lyrics are still problematic if they were meant as a diss... it still implies a negative connotation towards homosexuals...
[Edited 1/27/07 23:23pm]

thesexofit said:

oh come on, Prince's hair in the 80's was no worse than any other hair bands of the time! and if he really wanted to "diss" Prince then why is the video in the video of a white guy?

paisley16 said:

I told u, Mark wrote it about a guy he actually saw, in a tv shop, looking at MTV, and talking about certain acts.

I have no idea about the next verse though which mentions.....


..."And he's up there, what's that ? Hawaiian noises ?
Bangin' on the bongoes like a chimpanzee
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Get your money for nothin' get your chicks for free"


Anyway, I think Mark had to explain so a few people didn't get upset about the "faggot" comments etc....

coolcat said:

Yeah, no one really even uses the word anymore in England. Not that I know of. Maybe they did back in the 80's?

Anyway, the song is about a guy Mark saw, pretty much spied on, and copied what this person was saying about what he was watching, in the tv store.

Its just some ignorant fool. Like the other verse....

".....Bangin' on the bongoes like a chimpanzee"

That line is even more problematic, and infact, i think that verse was banned by some radio stations or something like that?

what buttholes.
I hate the word faggot.

yes I KNOW, anyone paying attention in the 80's heard Mark Knopfler discuss how the song came to be...he never said it had anything to do with Prince. I can't speak for anyone else but i don't like the looks of this thread or where you're directing this idea on a couple of different levels.....

Negritaluvyu said:

lol and its not because of Prince or anything.
Its just the word, drives me wild.

paisley16 said:

Iam just wondering what people thought. I admit, i was hasty in assuming the line was about Prince, as it could be adam ant or whomever, but hey, i dont think Prince is gay because of the "earrings" or whatever, if thats what ur thinking. I just never gave it much thought.

The song is written from the perspective of the average working class male--specifically guys who "have to move refrigerators and color tvs." The character scoffs at pretty boy rock stars (doesn't matter which one), claiming it's not real work. The use of "faggot" is pitch perfect in context. It's a great song.

padawan said:

I dont think this song was about prince, just musicians in general, and lets face it, the 80's was the time of the long haired, made up ,earring wearing pretty boys- covering many musical genres (IMO)

Working class men, busting their backs for minimum wage, may have seen the 80's rock stars as "f"- this is my observation/intereption of the song, not my views (i dont use the word in the real world so i'm not typing it here).

Knopflers song was a commentary on how the use of music videos -with the explosion of MTV 'put' the rock star in the living rooms of the average working Joe, who could see them earning"Money for Nothing", "that ain't working"


i was listening to Dire Straits yesterday (the "lite" thread in GD put me in a nostalgic mood), this song was on the cd- freaky. One of my top 5 "straits" songs- brill

coolcat said:

It is offensive in england and anywhere else. I'm straight and i'm not comfortable with hearing that. Although some might just use the word to bean sissy or punk or whatever.

Your'll hear the word fag on 99% of hip hop albums.

i just remembered, doesnt morris call prince a "f" in purple rain

just checked

morris to the kid
"mother fucka, ya long haired "f""
when the kid puts him into the garbage in the alley way with his bike after appolonia performs at the taste

sorry, slightly of track, but this goes to show that that nasty word is used even in prince material
[Edited 1/28/07 4:11am]
[Edited 1/28/07 4:12am]

The music industry did and still does contain plenty of pierced lil faggots with weird hairdos. That's obvious

Just dont start a picture thread...
[Edited 1/28/07 5:14am]

prb said:

Prince didn;t write the script.

Does Prince really have his own jet airplane?
Fatsen ur seat belts...

When this song came out, my friends and I speculated that he was talking about Billy Idol, who definitely won in the hair department at that time.

Mark Knopfler was from Whitley Bay.
A total shit hole if there ever was one.

Oh, for fuck's sake. It's not a diss against whoever's wearing the make-up and earings. It's a diss against the moronic, small-minded attitude of the straights dismissing this person who chooses to act like a 'faggot' - who is accurately described as reaping the rewards for being true to himself and acting like the aforementioned faggot.

i read the song was half written about Alanis Morrisettes future boyfriend and the other half was about Carly Simon's past boyfriend who was very vain