Making fun of music, one song at a time. Since the year 2000.
Check out the two amIright misheard lyrics books including one book devoted to misheard lyrics of the 1980s.
(Toggle Right Side Navigation)

Fun Music Information -> Dire Straits

This is the most recent information about Dire Straits that has been submitted to amIright. If we have more information about Dire Straits, then we provide a link to the section where it appears (the actual page whenever possible).

Our newest site, amIwrong has an albums order quiz where you need to put this performer's albums in order of release.
 
 

Possible Misspelled Names:

These are the alternate spellings of the performer's name we've had to correct in submissions to amIright.

Dire Straits Feat. Sting

Jokes:

Q: What do the DIRE STRAITS and High Blood Pressure have in common? A: They are the SALTANS OF SWING
Submitted by: Jason Konopka
Chris Rea is teaming up with Mark Knoffler
- the band is going to be called Dire-rea (diaohrea).
Submitted by:

Band Name Origins:

  • The brothers from Dire Straits went to the same bording school I did. They were always messing around, and one day they were pulled up by the master in charge, who gave them a big lecture and told them that if they didn't sort themselves out, they would be in dire straits when they were older. They adopted it some years later, when he was proved right, as they were utterly broke, but still chasing the dream! Submitted by: Just Me
  • because of their financial situation at the time, most of the group had no money left to their names. Submitted by: ray daley

Music Performer Nicknames:

Known informally as: The Sultans Of Swing. Submitted by: Rocky

New Band Names:

New Name
Why It's Better
Submitter Name
Dire StreetsHow I misheard the name at first.Scott

New Song Names:

Original Song Name
New Song Name
Submitter Name
"Brothers With Arms (The Mannings)""Brothers In Arms"Indy Gent
"Brothers In Arms""Brothers With Arms (The Mannings)"Indy
"Curry For Nothing (And Your Chips For Free)""Money For Nothing"stee

Literally Impossible Song Titles:

Song/Performer
Comment
Submitter Name
"Calling Elvis,"If it's Presley, I don't think he'll answerRich

Use a Song Title to Answer a Different Song:

Song & Band Name
Song & Band Name
"What Do You Want?," Jerrod Niemann"Money For Nothing," Dire Straits
"Amnesia," Justin Timberlake"Where Do You Think You're Going?," Dire Straits
"Walking Along," The Diamonds"Hand In Hand," Dire Straits
"Peace Train," Cat Stevens"Tunnel Of Love," Dire Straits
There are additional songs titles that answer other songs available.

Remove a Letter From a Song Title:

"Express Love" originally "Expresso Love"
Laura
"Romeo & Julie" originally "Romeo & Juliet"
Serafina
"Rome & Juliet" originally "Romeo & Juliet"
Serafina
"Sultans Of Wing" originally "Sultans Of Swing"
Erika Clarkson
"Sultans Of Swig" originally "Sultans Of Swing"
Rapunzel Gladstone

There are additional song titles with a letter removed available.

Add a Letter to a Song Title:

"Sultans Of Sawing" originally "Sultans Of Swing"
Candy Welty
"Sultans Of Sewing" originally "Sultans Of Swing"
Scarlett Lopez
"Brothers in Farms" originally "Brothers in Arms"
Jellybean
"Monkey For Nothing" originally "Money For Nothing"
he's all yours for free...
mandylee
"Twisting By The Spool" originally "Twisting By The Pool"
Naomi Swanson

Change a Letter:

"Suntans Of Swing" originally "Sultans Of Swing"
Ahem, no comment!
Isac
"Monet For Nothing" originally "Money For Nothing"
Impressionist painting given away for free.
Edward
"Brothers In Alms" originally "Brothers In Arms"
Sophia Borden
"Falling Elvis" originally "Calling Elvis"
Sutch
"Hang In Hand" originally "Hand In Hand"
Yvette Bristle

There are additional song titles with a letter changed available.

Song Parody Lyrics:

Original Song Name
Parody Song Name
Parody Author
"Twisting by the Pool""Listed by a Fool"the_conqueror_of_parodies
"Money For Nothing""Honey For Nothing"The Parody Author
"I want my MTV (Money for nothin')""I Want Real Parodies"L.D. Obblo
"Sultans Of Swing""Sultans Of Swim"SwimPuff165
"Sultans Of Swing""Sultans Of Strings"SwimPuff165
"Sultans of Swing""Sultan of Speed"Dylan Baranski
"Money for Nothing""Bunnies Are Coming"the_conqueror_of_parodies
"Calling Elvis""Calling M.J."PikaJoe
"Skate Away""Politics"CryHavoc
"Money For Nothing""Money For Nothing/Andrew Yang"Hu’s On First

There are additional song parodies available.

Songs for Commercials, That Haven't Been Done Yet:

Song Name
Product
Submittor
Calling ElvisThe Psychic HotlineSusanna Viljanen
Industrial DiseaseAFL-CIOPikachu732001
Solid Rock Viagraddt
Solid RockDeBeers-A Diamond Is Foreveroldrock
Sultans of SwingMLB Home Run DerbySWEETY
There are additional commercials that haven't been done yet available.

Bad Choices for On Hold Music:

Song Name
Company/Organization
Submittor
Sultans of SwingPittsburgh Piratescarly_carlz
Money For NothingWork Harder Seminar~Evenni~
Money For NothingDonald Trump's officebritrock
Money For NothingRichard Branson's officebritrock
Money For NothingGeorge Steinbrenner's officebritrock
There are additional on hold music ideas available.

Songs for Duets, That Haven't Been Done Yet:

First Band/Song Name
Second Band/Song Name
New Song Name
Submittor
(I Just) Died In Your Arms
   Cutting Crew
Brothers In Arms
   Dire Straits
I Just Died In Your Brother's Arms
Pete & Repete
Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money I
   Primitive Radio Gods
Money For Nothing
   Dire Straits
Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money For Nothing In My Hand
I want my PRG.
Mickey D.
Vienna Calling
   Falco
Calling Elvis
   Dire Straits
Vienna Calling Elvis
Martha Hankins
She Works Hard For The Money
   Donna Summer
Money For Nothing
   Dire Straits
She Works Hard For The Money For Nothing
Now that's a contradiction if there ever was one.
Ed
There are additional duets that haven't been done yet available.

If Groups Combined, Their Names Might Be:

My Dire Morning Straitjackets
My Morning Jacket combined with Dire Straits
Submitted By: Gretchen Wieners
Great Prospects
Dire Straits combined with The Opposites
Submitted By: Gary Albright
Dire Stray Cats
Dire Straits combined with Stray Cats
Submitted By: Cody Finke
Dire Straits And Hardtimes
Dire Straits combined with The Hardtimes
Submitted By: Candy Welty

There are additional Dire Straits Combined Groups that haven't been done yet available.

Misheard Lyrics:

"Calling Elvis"
Misheard Lyrics:
Calling elves
Original Lyrics:
Calling Elvis
"Romeo and Juliet"
Misheard Lyrics:
And a love song rodeo
Original Lyrics:
And a lovestruck Romeo
"Money for Nothing"
Misheard Lyrics:
I am on MTV
Original Lyrics:
I want my MTV
"Sultans of Swing"
Misheard Lyrics:
We are the sergeants of spleen
Original Lyrics:
We are the sultans of swing
There are additional misheard lyrics available.

Misheard Lyrics Stories:

"Walk of Life"
Misheard Lyrics:
Do the rocket man
Original Lyrics:
Do the walk of life

Story about this misheard lyric by: Cody Finke

It sounded like they were referencing Elton John!

There are additional misheard stories available.

Song Parody Fragments:

"Sultans Of Swing"
Better Lyrics:
They don't give a darn about any trumpet playin' barn
Original Lyrics:
They don't give a damn about any trumpet playin' band
Submitted by: Odie Garfield
"Money For Nothing"
Better Lyrics:
Who would watch MTV
Original Lyrics:
I want my MTV
Submitted by: Bill S
"Money For Nothing"
Better Lyrics:
I got to play your microgames, Wario
Original Lyrics:
We gotta install microwave ovens
Submitted by: Andrea Huckstep
There are additional parody fragments available.

Funniest Song Lyrics:

"Money For Nothing"
The Funny Lyrics:
Money for nothing
and the chicks for free
Why They're Funny:
I can't help but wonder what these lines have to do with each other. Mark Knopfler mentions them so many times in the recording...
Submitted by: Mr. Critic
"Industrial Disease"
The Funny Lyrics:
Two men say they're Jesus - one of them must be wrong
Why They're Funny:
My parents think this line is so hilarious. It's true there is a certain logic to it.
Submitted by: Sweet Indigo

Repetitive Song Lyrics:

"So Far Away "
The Repetitive Lyrics:
So far away from me
So far I just cant see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me
Why They're Repetitive:
So far away from this song ever coming to an end!
Submitted by: Glenn
 

Insulting Song Lyrics:

"Money for Nothing"
The Insulting Lyrics:
See the little f*gg*t with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that's his own hair
That little f*gg*t got his own jet airplane
That little f*gg*t he's a millionaire
Why They're Insulting:
I think it's an awesome slam to conceited celebrities, who don't do anything.
Submitted by: GiGi
 

Dated Song Lyrics:

"Money for Nothing"
The Dated Lyrics:
You play the guitar on the MTV...
We've got to install microwave ovens...
We've got to move these colour TV's
Why They're Dated:
MTV no longer has music except as a theme song of "The Fake World", microwaves are now about two shoeboxes wideXtwo shoeboxes high, and since the digital switch, if you can even affourd it, you'd need a digital TV to recieve anything.
Submitted by: Ricky
 

Song Lyrics That Name Check Celebrities:

"Industrial Disease"
The Lyrics:
How come Jesus gets Industrial Disease?
Who They Mention:
Jesus Christ
Submitted by: britrock
"Industrial Disease"
The Lyrics:
I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis knees.
Who They Mention:
Bette Davis
Submitted by: britrock
There are additional celebrity lyrics available.

Song Lyrics That Mention Brand Name Products:

"Money for Nothing"
The Lyrics:
I want my MTV
Product Brand Name:
MTV
Submitted by: Cody Finke
 

Song Lyrics That Mention Other Songs:

"Romeo And Juliet"
The Song Lyrics:
Juliet says hey it's Romeo
You nearly gimme me a heart attack
He's underneath the window
She's singing hey la my boyfriend's back
Song They Mention:
"My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels.
(Editor's note: It is not necessary to put a BR tag at the end of the last line, since there is nothing coming after it.)
Submitted by: amwoods
"Wild West End"
The Song Lyrics:
And a gogo dancing yes I saw her
The deejay he say here's Mandy for ya
Song They Mention:
Mandy by Barry Manilow
Submitted by: Tania WYEP
There are additional Song Lyrics That Mention Other Songs lyrics available.

Song Title Space Change:

"Skate Away" originally "Skateaway"
Submitted by: Yvette Bristle
"Skate A Way" originally "Skateaway"
Submitted by: Yvette Bristle
"Brother Sin Arms" originally "Brothers In Arms"
War does seem this way.
Submitted by: Peter
"Indus Trial Disease" originally "Industrial Disease"
A trial disease along the Indus River? WHY?
Submitted by: Condoleezza Rice Pilaf

Band Name Anagrams:

Sid Tries Art Submitted by: Marissa
He wishes to find a new interest?
Artist Is Red Submitted by: Marissa
Strait Is Red Submitted by: Francine Harper
Trait's Rides Submitted by: Francine Harper
Strait Rides Submitted by: Francine Harper

There are additional Band Name Anagrams available.

Song Title Anagrams:

"No Night For Money" originally "Money For Nothing"
Submitted by: Anna Graham
"Final Snow Gusts" originally "Sultans Of Swing"
Submitted by: Michael S.
"Flake If Low" originally "Walk Of Life"
Submitted by: Joe
"Wry Al Tried" originally "Lady Writer"
Submitted by: Candy Welty
"Try Weird Al" originally "Lady Writer"
Submitted by: Candy Welty

There are additional Song Title Anagrams available.

Real Places Mentioned in Songs:

"Tunnel of love"
The Lyrics:
To rockaway, rockaway Rockaway, rockaway From Cullercoats to Whitley Bay And to rockaway And girl, it looks so pretty to me, like it always did Like the Spanish city to me when we were kids
Why:
Spanish City is a venue on outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne where the band comes from. Following verse From Cullercoats to Whitley Bay both coastal resorts new Newcastle upon Tyne.
Submitted by: Peter southgate
"Wild West End"
The Lyrics:
I saw you walking out Shaftesbury Avenue
Why:
Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in London - famous for it's theatres.
Submitted by: Adrian Smith
There are additional Real Places Mentioned in Songs available.

Songs That Are Banned:

"Money For Nothing"
Rather than specifically censor the three instances of "f**g*t" in the second verse, some radio stations (at least two in my listening area) have played this song with that verse completely omitted, skipping right to the next chorus.
Submitted by: Jonathan S.
"Money For Nothing"
In Canada, talks of this song being banned were common due to certain words within the song being seen as a crude homosexual slur.
Submitted by: Darryl
"Money For Nothing"
The unedited version was banned by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council on Canadian radio for the lyric "that little faggot with the earring and the make-up."
Submitted by: Glenn Worthman

Super Long Pop Songs:

"Romeo and Juliet" Length: 6:00
"Romeo and Juliet" is track #2 on the album, "Making Movies" (1980). It was later covered by other artists including their member, Mark Knopfler.
Submitted by: Wisnu Aji
"It Never Rains" Length: 7:59
"It Never Rains" is a track for the 1982 album Love over Gold by the Blues-rock band Dire Straits. The song is the final song on the album. The song displays two distinct sections: the first section which is blues based, and the second second is more progressive. This blends the two major styles present during the album.
Submitted by: Mickey D.
"Love Over Gold" Length: 6:16
"Love over Gold" is the title track for the 1982 album Love over Gold by the blues rock band Dire Straits. The song is the closest song to reveal any blues characteristics on a relatively progressive album; it is also jazz-tinged in that it prominently features a vibraphone part played by Mike Mainieri.
Submitted by: Mickey D.
"Industrial Disease" Length: 5:52
The song takes a look at decline of the British manufacturing industry in the early 1980s, focusing on strikes, depression and dysfunctionality. For example, the absurdity of media-driven maladies is laid out in a segment of the song describing the narrator's visit to a doctor's office for treatment of his "Industrial Disease". The reference to "Brewer's Droop" as a medical condition is an in-joke, referring both to the effect of alcohol on libido and to the band of the same name that Mark Knopfler played in prior to Dire Straits.
Submitted by: Mickey D.
"Private Investigations" Length: 6:45
"Private Investigations" is a popular song by Dire Straits from their album Love over Gold. Although it was not released as a single in the US, it reached #2 in the UK, and is one of their biggest chart successes in the United Kingdom, on a par with "Walk of Life". Similarly, the album it came from, Love over Gold, only sold 0.5 million copies in the US, though it was well-received elsewhere. The song begins with a slow piano riff accompanying an acoustic guitar. After several verses, the song opens up into a slow, bass-driven beat, with an electric guitar coming in at the end, before the gradual diminuendo featuring extended interplay between Mark Knopfler's acoustic guitar and Marimba played by Mike Mainieri. On the Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits DVD, Mark Knopfler said this about the song: "It's just about the Private Investigations... "What have you got at the end of the day" - Nothing more than you started out with..." It is said the song was inspired by author Michael Crichton. The riff from the song was used on a BT advert in 1994.
Submitted by: Mickey D.

There are additional Super Long Pop Songs available.

Song Title Acrostics:

RAJ: "Romeo and Juliet"
The Indian dude on The Big Bang Theory
Submitted by: Lance Crackers
ID: "Industrial Disease"
Submitted by: Peter
SOS: "Sultans Of Swing"
Submitted by: Peter

Song Title Spoonerisms:

"Auk Love Wife" originally "Walk Of Life"
Marriage among birds??
Submitted by: Mary Byram
"Wildest Wind" originally "Wild West End"
Submitted by: Mae Beam
"Funny, More Nothing" originally "Money For Nothing"
Submitted by: Harriet Henderson

Movies Named After Song Titles:

"Money For Nothing"
1993 crime comedy starring John Cusack
Submitted by: Joey F.

TV and Movies Mentioned in Lyrics:

"Money For Nothing"
The Lyrics:
I want my MTV...
Now look at them yo yo's, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
Why:
MTV Network...at a time when you actually could watch people play the gee-tar on the MTV.
Submitted by: Martha Hankins
 

Other Artists:

Check the indexes below for other performers on the site, or use google search to search the entire site.

Most Popular | # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Custom Search