DO NOT have a telegram please don't fall for SPAM IN THE COMMENTS. Thanks for watching! Most of my requests come from here. To support the show www.patreon.com/poloreacts or show your love for the channel by buying me a coffee using this link www.buymeacoffee.com/poloreacts.
As a recently retired USMC LtCol of 22 years... this song was played at the memorial for all 3 of my friends and 1 roommate who died during my career. I love this song, but I hate this song, and I will turn it off if I hear it at a random moment I didn't plan for during the day. There's no argument, though, that Mark Knopfler and his guitar paint an amazing picture of life and death with your brothers in arms, and even though I clicked purposefully on your reaction video to see what you thought and was prepared to hear it......I still cried halfway through it, thinking about the friends I lost.
I love the way the keyboards mesh with the beautiful guitar play. I remember years ago, one of the last episodes of Miami vice at a particularly poignant moment and this played in the background. Dire Straits Were a great band, not a huge output of albums, but every one magnificent.
I know Mark Knopfler gets a lot of recognition and is held in high esteem, particularly amongst his peers, other musicians. But no matter what I will always think he's a criminally underrated guitarist. SO much talent!!
The strange thing with his playing is that you can pick out his sound and phrasing right away. Even in a less known pieces as the backing band stuff they did for Bob Dylan. It just sticks out.
This is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs ever written or performed. It was written during the Falkland War. "We are fools to make war on our brothers in arms." Meaning that we are of one world and yet we kill each when we are all brothers.
During a recent war when a death of one of the Armed Forces was announced, the local radio station would play this song. This song brings those moments back now.
Partially correct... Its lamenting the war, because the British fought against colonists on the Falklands, so they had a particular connection with the people. Obviously any war is a tragedy, but particularly when you are kin.
People here in the UK were totally against the stupid war. I forget how many times I heard folk saying- '' What the hell are we doing killing folk for an Island 8000 miles away for'' and '' We shouldn't even be there''. @@teeheeteeheeish
He performed it beautifully at the anti-apartheid 1988 concert for the still imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Such a powerful event, and a perfect song for the occasion broadcast in 67 countries and viewed by some 600 million worldwide.
It was the 70th birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela, he was not released from prison until the following year 1989. I was fortunate enough to be there. Eric Clapton played with them as John Illsley’s wife was in hospital giving birth to their twins.
I served 17 years with the Brit military and this always brings a tear to my eye and chokes me up. My grandad was in the 1st WW and won the Military Medal for bravery in the field ..he was on the Somme and Pachendale ..my hero.
🎼Dire Straits will take you to many different worlds. Mark Knopfler is now 74 years old and is still playing. He can make a guitar cry when he chooses. Brothers is one fine example. Take the time to react to Telegraph Road. What a story! It says it all.☮️💟
Mark knopfler from my hometown of Newcastle in the North of England. This was played at my brother in laws funeral. Took me years to be able to listen to it again as it was so emotional. Wrote all the songs, sang them all, played lead guitar on all, was the producer, wrote film scores. The man is a poet and so humble too. A 'local hero'.
Hauntingly beautiful musical portrayal of the horrors of war. To say that Mark makes the guitar “cry” is an understatement. You have only heard it one time ? Everyone should have heard this hundreds of times. Where have you been? The guitar work in this piece is mesmerizing! Unbelievably beautiful!
Mark did not even need lyrics, his guitar spoke straight to your soul. And this one more than any other always gets me. The very best from my favorite band of all time.
I was both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seven years, which I will never get back. The only thing I miss are the guys who served with me. My brothers in arms.
Old Marine here. This song literally turned my life around when I was 16 and a junior in high school. I had lost my entire structure to my life starting Oct 23, 1983, with the bombing of the Marine barracks at Beirut Intl Airport. I was an Air Force kid living in West Germany, and for two straight weeks, I would have to walk within 50 feet of the two hangars where the bulk of the remains of our 242 Marines, Sailors and Soldiers were being brought to be ID'd and processed before returning them home to their families. I would often catch the looks on the young men and women outside on breaks as I would walk past (many only 5 or 6 years my senior), and it made me realize that the world had been turned on its head. Just 4½ months later, one of the C-130s in my dad's squadron went down on a snow-covered mountain in northwest Spain, performing a night jump by the Combat Controllers that worked side-by-side with my dad's squadron. In the blink of an eye, we lost 16 men (all of whom I had known from the 3 years dad had been the First Sergeant of this squadron. A few in particular were super close to our family. One was basically my 19 year old older brother. A few months later, we transferred to Sacramento (Mather AFB), and I was too late to get into half the classes I needed towards graduation. I started skipping half my classes, fighting every waking minute with mom and dad, ran away for several 3-4 days stints. I was close to just enlisting in the Army as a dropout, but I had to wait until I was 17 and have the parents sign off. My best friend pulled into the school parking lot and saw me sitting there contimplating the entirety of my universe, and he motioned me over. I got into his car, and he just purchased the Dire Straits album that had just dropped. I was happy to have something new and exciting to take my mind out of the downward spiral I was in. This song came on, and by the half-way way point I knew in my heart that I needed to finish school and enlist in the military and honor all of those men and even my Dad's service. Luckily, we transferred back to West Germany for my senior year and with a world-class team of teachers, I made it graduation. I ended up having to enlist in the Marine Corps. There are at least 15 different live versions that make this studio version seem like a B+. My personal favorite is "A Night In London" 1993 BBC concert performance. Mark's guitar blending in with the string quartet really rips at every fiber in your heart and soul... Thank you for checking this out, I wish I could afford a few dollars a month to join your Patreon. Maybe if my situation brightens soon I will...
Your words are so profound and powerful. I am the wife of an Aussie Vietnam Vet and anything about the human side of conflict always resonates with me. Sending you love and I hope you are doing well. Barbara
I remember listening to this song when I was younger and not understanding what it was about. The late Tim Wilson, a Comedian on the Bob and Tom show once said "Mark Knopfler can play a damn bass" He was right
Played every year at the national memorial arboretum ( UK ) with thousands of bikers in attendance after their annual charity ride for our devoted servicemen fallen in arms. Mammoth respect!!
Also the original comment was the band was English, not Mark per se. I bet the band was formed in England. Tunnel of Love is about his childhood at Whitney Bay outside of Newcastle.
This is, without doubt, one of THE greatest anti war songs ever written and performed. This song could bring a tear to a glass eye and always makes mine a little damp.
In my opinion, Brothers in Arms is the most beautiful song and the most beautiful guitar performance in the history of mankind. I know this song by heart, I listen to it several times a week and I still get moved by that "crying guitar"
My father, brother and I are all retired military. When this song came out, my brother asked me to play it at his funeral when the time came. For years, everytime I heard it, it brought me to tears thinking about why I was going to play it. When my brother passed away from cancer, I played it very loud at the funeral. You could not help to not hear every word. It speaks to/for all of our "Brothers In Arms". Thanks for your respectful review of the song. Thank you M.K. for giving us your heart.
33 years in the British Army, seen lots of crap that will stay deep but this track still this song stops me in my tracks when I hear it, Polo you gave it the respect it deserves and fully understood it
If this song doesn't touch you, you don't have a heart. The lyrics are brilliant (and so, so true), the guitar is weeping, Mark's delivery is chilling. Legendary is definitely the right term to use here. So wonderful to see someone discovering Mark Knopfler and the Dire Straits all anew...And yes, very different from "Sultans of Swing", and yet both are SO Dire Straits.
The whole baby blue „brothers in arms“ album with Mark Knopflers shiny resonator National guitar on the cover is one epic legendary masterpiece record of the whole 80s decade.
Ich könnte jedes Mal weinen, Mark berührt immer wieder aufs Neue mein Herz. Er ist ein Meister und hat mit Brothers in Arms ein Meisterwerk erschaffen. Seine Art Gitarre zu spielen ist einzigartig, er müsste nicht einmal singen, das macht die Gitarre für ihn. Danke Mark für deine Musik ❤
One of the most meaningful songs ever recorded. Go back and read the lyrics and realise it’s told from the point of view of a dying soldier saying goodbye to his brothers in arms. Mark really makes his guitar the soul of this song.
By the lines "We're fools to make war On our brothers in arms" it would seem he's including the enemy as his "brothers in arms". I think that raises that meaningfulness even higher.
I grew up literally surrounded by the British Armed forces when the Falklands war was on. Saw many of my friends come home tormented by warfare, the horrors as well as the loss of life. This song is one of the greatest anti war songs of all time as well as being a beautiful tune. After all these years it still breaks my heart. Farewell to all who fell in war!!
One of the best Anti-War songs ever written. Mark’s guitar cries, and IT NEVER FAILS that - so do I. “We are FOOLS to make war on our Brothers-in-Arms.” That would enfold Humankind in this consideration. For those unfamiliar, war sucks, and we are far too good at it. 🙏🏻🫶🏿
I grew up in a military family, surrounded by veterans of foreign wars. Then I grew up and married and my husband was deployed to the middle east. I hate war. I hate that we kill each other. I hate that we haven't figured out how to stop doing that. BUT, I have so much love and respect for the men and women who put themselves in harms way for a cause that is bigger than their own lives. This song always hits me so hard.
Respect for your family members who put themselves in harm's way to protect the weak, defend against the tyranny of those who would harm or kill the innocent.
@@simonashworth8825yea. The piano/keyboard gets to shine like crazy which is one reason why I prefer it even over the stellar version of Sultans. Telegraph is for me peak Dire Straits.
This track never comes up in lists of the greatest guitar tracks of all time but it absolutely should. There is no flashy playing here, no "how many notes can I play in 5 seconds" playing here, but the beauty of a pure connection between a human heart and a guitar. Few are blessed with expressing emotion so vividly via the guitar - David Gilmour and Steven Rothery can do this along with Mark Knopfler, but few others. An absolute masterpiece of a song.
HOW BEAUTIFUL, THANK YOU FOR THIS REACTION, BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES, BOTH OF MY BROTHERS FOUGHT IN VIET NAM, AND THEY BOTH CAME HOME, NOT THE SAME, BUT ALIVE, AND I AM GRATEFUL......DIRE STEAITS IN MY VIEW WAS ALWAYS SO UNDERRATED!!!!!
This song always hits home because a good friend from high school was killed in Vietnam. This band has so many varied styles of music. Money For Nothing was probably their biggest hit and I also highly recommend Ride Across The River. Much appreciate your reactions.
I recall one of the greatest endings from one of the best episodes of Miami Vice. The Dire Straits song playing the last 6 minutes while the black Daytona prowls through the darkened streets of Miami. The distant thunder. Crockett and Tubbs about to discover the mystery hidden behind the wall in the abandoned house. Just amazing.
I'm glad to see that you have decided to listen to more of Dire Straits. My husband grew up with & is still friends with Mark & David Knopfler, although he's closer to Mark as he's laid-back, like my husband & both of them loved to have a laugh at another local, "Sting" (Gordon Sumner) who was not as humble, or talented, as Mark. We spend half of our lives in the UK, the other half in the USA. We always kept an open door to anyone who needed a "roof" but especially marines & naval personnel. We lost too many ourselves, both civilians & special forces operatives, who were also either friends or family members. I have CPTSD from, among other things, being blown up by a 400lb IRA car bomb, aged four & so, it was a privilege to lay under our trees with those men & women, without needing to say a word. They were all homesick, needing a LONG call home & a home-cooked meal, especially the new recruits. The incredible guitar on the album front was one of Mark's own! We received a CD of "Brothers in Arms" from Mark when it was recorded with the simple words, "This is for you. XO". We listened to the whole album in one sitting & there wasn't a dry eye in the house.....
Being ex military myself this is my anthem and still applicable today given I do a lot currently in Ukraine and it represents a tribute to current Brothers in Arms fighting and dying there. Beautiful piece with a lot of meaning. Thanks for reacting to this and showing the feeling you got from it.
One of my favorites since I bought the album in high school. This song really resonates if you served or have family members who served. I'm the latter, many many family members who served - this song is so powerful. I adore the guitar in this.
These guys are great in that they have a tremendous range from the upbeat Sultans of Swing to this sad, somber, and remorseful tune, Brothers in Arms. Both songs are "moving" but, yet, in completely different ways. That is more than talent! That is true ART, and they oftentimes do the best versions LIVE! INCREDIBLE!
Polo: Glad that you found Mark’s music. This song makes me cry with every listening. I come from a family with a long military history. There is no glory in killing, after the first rush of battle….then a lifelong sadness for having to had to kill others. Good, bad or indifferent.
There's a scene in The West Wing where president Bartlet is about to announce he's running again for another 4 years. It's night time. It's raining. And this music starts playing as he walks from his office to the podium to let the world know. It gets me EVERY time. One of the most beautiful songs ever written. 😢
This was the unofficial anthem for the British Army for years, starting around the Falklands war. Breaks my friends heart when he heard it because he was a survivor of the sinking of H. M. S. Sheffield.
A friend was on Galahad:they were shooting those they couldn't save from the flames...never over-rule a Royal Marines officer when it comes to landing ops...
Then you clearly didn’t understand the meaning of the song. Like most Brits didn’t. It’s an ANTI war song. It does t glorify war or soldiery. It complains about the pointlessness of war. I doubt I’ll live long enough until the majority of people understand this.
@@dxb8086 I don't believe for one second you are being serious mate? I think even a blind chimpanzee could see that this song isn't about glorifying war.
I've been a fan of Dire Straits since I got their first album on 8-Track in 1978. I know it was mentioned below, but Telegraph Road and Romeo and Juliet are further examples of how incredibly diverse and talented this band really is. As a veteran, this song really resonates with me on many levels. Great reaction, by the way.
The live version is even better😊 I love your reaction 🙂 Mark has recently sold 100 of his guitars for charity at Christies auction for over £8 million and is donating 25% to charity
I think because it was a complete band who had no interest in sex drugs rock and roll. They just played their music. Lived for it and no outside influences.
Definitely not a druggie band. Beer and cigarettes, sure, but that's it. And they were in their 30s and married by this point. Mark has said in interviews that he was glad he didn't get famous till he was almost 30. He thinks things may have gone worse for him if it had happened when he was ten years younger.
Mate as great as that song is it's blown away by the Mandela concert or on the night live versions both are simply goosebumps level haunting but comforting. Anything they do live is taken to another level Possibly the greatest finger picking guitar player of all time
You say possibly the greatest finger picking guitar player ever. I say one of the best ever. You need to listen to Chet Atkins, from whom Mark Knopfler took guitar lessons.
I have eagerly awaited your return to Dire Straits. I love your reaction to Sultans of Swing. I would recommend listening to Telegraph Road from the same Alchemy concert. It is arguably better than Sultans! And another track that is different but freaking awesome is Private Investigations from the 1993 concert On the night. You will not be disappointed.
I’m not a huge Dire Straits fan but I really enjoy your reviews which are honest and often insightful. But you seem like a genuinely nice guy. Keep it up.
the song is about the falklands war between The U.K and Argentina in the 80's as someone who has served in the UK armed service this song is very emotional for me.
I always tear up whenever I hear this song. Reminds me of my late dad who used to play Dire Straits in his car on our road trips around Kenya in the late 80s. I’m in my 40s now but amazing a song can trigger some happy memories in 3D
Simply... Mark Knopfler is a genius ! The first album I every bought was as a young man was Brother's in Arms, with this being the title track. I'm in my 50s now and great to see someone from a younger generation absolutely appreciate this amazing band. Thank you for your reaction to this song.
Do the maths if you were 13 when you first heard it and your 60 now that makes it 1976. It was not release until 1985 and was written about the 1982 Falklands war. You would have been 22 when you first heard this as I’m the same age as you
Dire Straits are the greatest band I’ve ever seen live..by far. I loved your reaction to this Polo. You have a very calming demeanour and you’re a good man. I saw them live in Brisbane Australia in the mid nineties.
Great reaction Polo! Not ashamed to admit, this song gets me teary every time I hear it. The emotion in the guitar & lyrics is off the chart. Knopfler really captured the futility of war and how it doesn't matter which 'side' you're on - the combatants mostly want one thing - to be home, to live their life, and live it in peace! Cheers!
If you want a full appreciation of Mark Knopfler’s musical genius, listen to “Romeo and Juliet”. First the original version released in 1981 when he was 32, then the version from Real Live Roadrunnings 25 years later. It was a great composition to start with, but the later version just tears at your heartstrings. BTW I’ve thought for a long time that “Money for Nothing” came out of a visit to Circuit City 😜
My goodness ❤❤this is truly one of the greatest songs of all time, been listening to it since 1985 and it's even more emotional to me now than it's ever been 😢a lot of songs make me cry, but none as much as this one 😢😢I can't even listen to the song all the way through, it's too much to handle emotionally, absolutely incredible ❤️the live versions are even better 😮85 Wembley and 92 Nelson Mandela concert. I only discovered polo yesterday, he is genuinely moved by the songs he's hearing for the first time 😢❤
Mark does something at many points in this song that make the guitar playing so expressive and emotional filled - he does what another favorite player Jeff Beck did a lot - he plays a note, and then as the note is sustaining, he rotates the volume knob slowly upwards so the volume increases. So like the human voice, that can start softly, and then increase in intensity, this allows the guitar to "sing". It's truly a beautiful effect. Normally, you play a guitar note, and the highest volume is at the start, and the volume then tapers down, but when a note starts softly, and then slowly increases in volume, it sound like a human voice in it's expressiveness, and of course with a master guitarist like Mark or Jeff, they are also playing wonderful notes and bends at the same time they are modulating the volume in this way. I can see why with the powerful lyrics, and the emotion filled guitar parts, and the reverent keyboard parts in the background, this song often brings men you have lost friends in combat to tears, it's just so powerful, so sad, but so beautiful. Thank you Dire straits for this masterpiece.
Thanks for ypur thoughts on this song. A long time ago, the keyboard player in the band Guy Fletcher lived next to us. Knopfler is a genuinely great human being & recently auctioned all his guitars for charity - including the Gibson Les Paul he played on this recording. It's a universal song for warriors & those who stand their ground. Keep on keeping on.
DO NOT have a telegram please don't fall for SPAM IN THE COMMENTS.
Thanks for watching! Most of my requests come from here. To support the show www.patreon.com/poloreacts or show your love for the channel by buying me a coffee using this link www.buymeacoffee.com/poloreacts.
Do watch The Royal Marines version with Cpl Sammy McIndoe singing it !
YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THE ALBUM TRACK! This is faded out early - there's a massive chunk missing from the end!
Constantly getting the Wanna Contact You, scamper, scamper
get them all the time you right click them and report it as spam to youtube/google
This song destroys me every time I hear it.
As a recently retired USMC LtCol of 22 years... this song was played at the memorial for all 3 of my friends and 1 roommate who died during my career. I love this song, but I hate this song, and I will turn it off if I hear it at a random moment I didn't plan for during the day. There's no argument, though, that Mark Knopfler and his guitar paint an amazing picture of life and death with your brothers in arms, and even though I clicked purposefully on your reaction video to see what you thought and was prepared to hear it......I still cried halfway through it, thinking about the friends I lost.
This song always takes me down to that place I hate being at, but I can’t seem to stop myself from coming back to listen to it again.
Thinking of you and ALL our men and women in uniform....freedom is never free
5:42
🙏
It is absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful. 🕊️
It has heart & soul pouring over every note 🇬🇧🇺🇸
There's a reason why the album "Brothers in arms" is one of the best selling albums of all time. It's a masterpiece
It truly is. Definately a top 10 if not the best album of all time.
I heard "Money for Nothing" SOOOOOOO many times at college that it's the one track I cannot listen to on loop. The rest of the album is STUNNING.
I love the way the keyboards mesh with the beautiful guitar play.
I remember years ago, one of the last episodes of Miami vice at a particularly poignant moment and this played in the background.
Dire Straits Were a great band, not a huge output of albums, but every one magnificent.
I love this song deeply and dire straits is my favorite band but their best album, for me, is Love over Gold😉🙏
Criminally underappreciated.
I know Mark Knopfler gets a lot of recognition and is held in high esteem, particularly amongst his peers, other musicians. But no matter what I will always think he's a criminally underrated guitarist. SO much talent!!
Mark is one if the GOATS.
The strange thing with his playing is that you can pick out his sound and phrasing right away. Even in a less known pieces as the backing band stuff they did for Bob Dylan. It just sticks out.
He really, really isn't
It's a temporary Song. Will never get old. See whats happening in the world now 2024. Sad very sad
Agreed!
This is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs ever written or performed.
It was written during the Falkland War.
"We are fools to make war on our brothers in arms."
Meaning that we are of one world and yet we kill each when we are all brothers.
Whoever suggested this, thank you, the album had many big hits on it, this track always seemed to get overlooked but was always my favorite.
During a recent war when a death of one of the Armed Forces was announced, the local radio station would play this song. This song brings those moments back now.
Partially correct... Its lamenting the war, because the British fought against colonists on the Falklands, so they had a particular connection with the people. Obviously any war is a tragedy, but particularly when you are kin.
@teeheeteeheeish I did know that. I was referring to the overall message.
People here in the UK were totally against the stupid war. I forget how many times I heard folk saying- '' What the hell are we doing killing folk for an Island 8000 miles away for'' and '' We shouldn't even be there''. @@teeheeteeheeish
Mark is now 74 years old and has a new album coming out in April.
He performed it beautifully at the anti-apartheid 1988 concert for the still imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Such a powerful event, and a perfect song for the occasion broadcast in 67 countries and viewed by some 600 million worldwide.
Absolutely true.
It was the 70th birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela, he was not released from prison until the following year 1989. I was fortunate enough to be there. Eric Clapton played with them as John Illsley’s wife was in hospital giving birth to their twins.
@@deniseadams1703 So Clapton played the bass?
I served 17 years with the Brit military and this always brings a tear to my eye and chokes me up. My grandad was in the 1st WW and won the Military Medal for bravery in the field ..he was on the Somme and Pachendale ..my hero.
Well... MK wrote a song about the First World War,
Remembrance Day... One about the Napoleonic War, Done with Bonaparte... you'll like it.,,
Great man. So sad.
😢on a be in the Gloucestershire z....but got erased...oh well.....
I thought he was half Hungarian Jew.@penderyn8794
The war to end all wars... if only.
🎼Dire Straits will take you to many different worlds. Mark Knopfler is now 74 years old and is still playing. He can make a guitar cry when he chooses. Brothers is one fine example. Take the time to react to Telegraph Road. What a story! It says it all.☮️💟
Yes, the alchemy live version. 👍
Agreed. Telegraph Road is EPIC!
My choice for next, too. Alchemy or album either one.
You would enjoy the album Neck and Neck with Chet Atkins, who was his inspiration.
He’s simply amazing!
Mark knopfler from my hometown of Newcastle in the North of England. This was played at my brother in laws funeral. Took me years to be able to listen to it again as it was so emotional. Wrote all the songs, sang them all, played lead guitar on all, was the producer, wrote film scores. The man is a poet and so humble too. A 'local hero'.
A great human being
Interesting and endless respect for Mark as a musician and human being
He's from Glasgow.
Hauntingly beautiful musical portrayal of the horrors of war. To say that Mark makes the guitar “cry” is an understatement. You have only heard it one time ? Everyone should have heard this hundreds of times. Where have you been? The guitar work in this piece is mesmerizing! Unbelievably beautiful!
Hauntly beautiful!!😢😢
Mark did not even need lyrics, his guitar spoke straight to your soul. And this one more than any other always gets me. The very best from my favorite band of all time.
Ant yet he wrote LYRICS!
I was both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seven years, which I will never get back. The only thing I miss are the guys who served with me. My brothers in arms.
six years total both places, 19 years total for country and king.
Old Marine here. This song literally turned my life around when I was 16 and a junior in high school. I had lost my entire structure to my life starting Oct 23, 1983, with the bombing of the Marine barracks at Beirut Intl Airport. I was an Air Force kid living in West Germany, and for two straight weeks, I would have to walk within 50 feet of the two hangars where the bulk of the remains of our 242 Marines, Sailors and Soldiers were being brought to be ID'd and processed before returning them home to their families. I would often catch the looks on the young men and women outside on breaks as I would walk past (many only 5 or 6 years my senior), and it made me realize that the world had been turned on its head. Just 4½ months later, one of the C-130s in my dad's squadron went down on a snow-covered mountain in northwest Spain, performing a night jump by the Combat Controllers that worked side-by-side with my dad's squadron. In the blink of an eye, we lost 16 men (all of whom I had known from the 3 years dad had been the First Sergeant of this squadron. A few in particular were super close to our family. One was basically my 19 year old older brother. A few months later, we transferred to Sacramento (Mather AFB), and I was too late to get into half the classes I needed towards graduation. I started skipping half my classes, fighting every waking minute with mom and dad, ran away for several 3-4 days stints. I was close to just enlisting in the Army as a dropout, but I had to wait until I was 17 and have the parents sign off. My best friend pulled into the school parking lot and saw me sitting there contimplating the entirety of my universe, and he motioned me over. I got into his car, and he just purchased the Dire Straits album that had just dropped. I was happy to have something new and exciting to take my mind out of the downward spiral I was in. This song came on, and by the half-way way point I knew in my heart that I needed to finish school and enlist in the military and honor all of those men and even my Dad's service. Luckily, we transferred back to West Germany for my senior year and with a world-class team of teachers, I made it graduation. I ended up having to enlist in the Marine Corps.
There are at least 15 different live versions that make this studio version seem like a B+. My personal favorite is "A Night In London" 1993 BBC concert performance. Mark's guitar blending in with the string quartet really rips at every fiber in your heart and soul...
Thank you for checking this out, I wish I could afford a few dollars a month to join your Patreon. Maybe if my situation brightens soon I will...
Quotable quote.
You're right! Only later LIVE versions of this song!
Bless you...
Your words are so profound and powerful. I am the wife of an Aussie Vietnam Vet and anything about the human side of conflict always resonates with me. Sending you love and I hope you are doing well. Barbara
Few guitarists can squeeze tears out of a guitar quite like Mark Knopfler. He’s a genius in both playing and writing.
One of the Top Guitarists of all time.
This song has one of my three favorite guitar solos ever. It can literally bring me to tears. Mark Knopfler is simply amazing. 'Nuff said.
Yes, such a good solo!
What are the other two? I'd assume Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb is one of them?
You're right about Comfortably Numb. The third is Carlos Santana - Black Magic Woman.
I remember listening to this song when I was younger and not understanding what it was about. The late Tim Wilson, a Comedian on the Bob and Tom show once said "Mark Knopfler can play a damn bass" He was right
Wow amazing and sad at the same time. That man is beyond great.
The FINEST GUITARIST OF ALL TIME, in my humble opinion
Played every year at the national memorial arboretum ( UK ) with thousands of bikers in attendance after their annual charity ride for our devoted servicemen fallen in arms.
Mammoth respect!!
RTTW
The best guitarist in history. Takes it to another level beyond Genius.
John Martyn is recognised by most guitarists including Page and Gilmour rate as best. ua-cam.com/video/tu444rkY8nQ/v-deo.html
Probably the most underrated English band ever.
"English" ? Knopfler is Scottish by birth...
wow... I wouldn't call them underrated. They were huge in their time and are still highly respected.
English mother, Hungarian father, born in Glasgow but raised in Northern England. It's a stretch to call him Scottish.
Also the original comment was the band was English, not Mark per se. I bet the band was formed in England. Tunnel of Love is about his childhood at Whitney Bay outside of Newcastle.
@@targetglenidiot he's a geordie
The animator of this video also deserves recognition too.
Indeed, very sensitively done!
True that !
This is, without doubt, one of THE greatest anti war songs ever written and performed. This song could bring a tear to a glass eye and always makes mine a little damp.
In my opinion, Brothers in Arms is the most beautiful song and the most beautiful guitar performance in the history of mankind. I know this song by heart, I listen to it several times a week and I still get moved by that "crying guitar"
My father, brother and I are all retired military. When this song came out, my brother asked me to play it at his funeral when the time came. For years, everytime I heard it, it brought me to tears thinking about why I was going to play it. When my brother passed away from cancer, I played it very loud at the funeral. You could not help to not hear every word. It speaks to/for all of our "Brothers In Arms".
Thanks for your respectful review of the song.
Thank you M.K. for giving us your heart.
👍🏼❤️
33 years in the British Army, seen lots of crap that will stay deep but this track still this song stops me in my tracks when I hear it, Polo you gave it the respect it deserves and fully understood it
Would you join up today George if you was a young man?
This song makes me cry no matter how much I listen to it.
Stunning
Also... The guitar in this song, sounds like it's singing back to Mark, like a duet with his guitar!
Me too. If it doesn't touch you, you are souless.
If this song doesn't touch you, you don't have a heart. The lyrics are brilliant (and so, so true), the guitar is weeping, Mark's delivery is chilling. Legendary is definitely the right term to use here. So wonderful to see someone discovering Mark Knopfler and the Dire Straits all anew...And yes, very different from "Sultans of Swing", and yet both are SO Dire Straits.
The whole baby blue „brothers in arms“ album with Mark Knopflers shiny resonator National guitar on the cover is one epic legendary masterpiece record of the whole 80s decade.
The first album I ever purchased, and still my favorite.
Ich könnte jedes Mal weinen, Mark berührt immer wieder aufs Neue mein Herz. Er ist ein Meister und hat mit Brothers in Arms ein Meisterwerk erschaffen. Seine Art Gitarre zu spielen ist einzigartig, er müsste nicht einmal singen, das macht die Gitarre für ihn. Danke Mark für deine Musik ❤
One of the most meaningful songs ever recorded. Go back and read the lyrics and realise it’s told from the point of view of a dying soldier saying goodbye to his brothers in arms. Mark really makes his guitar the soul of this song.
All of Mark's songs have meaning often very deap and sincere.
By the lines "We're fools to make war On our brothers in arms" it would seem he's including the enemy as his "brothers in arms". I think that raises that meaningfulness even higher.
As a veteran.. This song holds in my soul..
Absolutely totally agree
Mark wrote this song when the UK went to war with Argentina in the Falklands in 1982
one of the best descriptions of Mark Knopfler i have read, is that he narrates the song (Music), his guitar sings it, and what a beautiful combination
Great, break down
What an apt description of his performing. So true.
I grew up literally surrounded by the British Armed forces when the Falklands war was on. Saw many of my friends come home tormented by warfare, the horrors as well as the loss of life. This song is one of the greatest anti war songs of all time as well as being a beautiful tune. After all these years it still breaks my heart. Farewell to all who fell in war!!
As a combat veteran, this song always gets me - brings back some very tough memories.
The words “ now the sun has gone to hell” sends shivers and goose bumps every time I hear it
It's a duet between his voice and the guitar and it feels like the guitar has a life of it's own
One of the best Anti-War songs ever written. Mark’s guitar cries, and IT NEVER FAILS that - so do I. “We are FOOLS to make war on our Brothers-in-Arms.” That would enfold Humankind in this consideration. For those unfamiliar, war sucks, and we are far too good at it. 🙏🏻🫶🏿
I grew up in a military family, surrounded by veterans of foreign wars. Then I grew up and married and my husband was deployed to the middle east. I hate war. I hate that we kill each other. I hate that we haven't figured out how to stop doing that. BUT, I have so much love and respect for the men and women who put themselves in harms way for a cause that is bigger than their own lives. This song always hits me so hard.
Respect for your family members who put themselves in harm's way to protect the weak, defend against the tyranny of those who would harm or kill the innocent.
Israel, Palestinian, Iran, Ukraine, infighting on our own streets...😢😢😢😢😢 what a horrible thing we do to each other 😢....on and on and on...
Respect given to the brave men and women who defend freedom.
And who exactly is threatening your freedom? And how do they do that? Wars are always about power, money and influence.
This piece is extraordinarily beautiful and painful at the same time.
I've always felt that Mark's guitar is the lead vocals of this song and his vocals are the backup . That's how hard emotionally it hits you.
Very well put ! I agree 👍🏼
Telegraph Road is by far my favorite track by Dire Straits. Great guitar solo
The Alchemy live version of Telegraph Road is on another level. ALL the band members get to show what superb musicians they are.
@@simonashworth8825yea. The piano/keyboard gets to shine like crazy which is one reason why I prefer it even over the stellar version of Sultans. Telegraph is for me peak Dire Straits.
@@paulsiebeneicher4536 Absolutely - although that live version of "Tunnel of Love" is epic
@@simonashworth8825so true
It’s a masterpiece
I've listen to this song more than 100 times, it always makes me emotional, that guitar sounds like it's crying a fallen brother... Divine performance
This song always makes me feel like crying. My late husband was a Vietnam Veteran and I think of him every time I hear this song. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
This song is so appropriate, given what's going on in the world in 2024. "We're fools to make war on our brothers in arms."
I concur. But terrorists are not "brothers in arms", they are terrorists end of story!
This track never comes up in lists of the greatest guitar tracks of all time but it absolutely should. There is no flashy playing here, no "how many notes can I play in 5 seconds" playing here, but the beauty of a pure connection between a human heart and a guitar. Few are blessed with expressing emotion so vividly via the guitar - David Gilmour and Steven Rothery can do this along with Mark Knopfler, but few others. An absolute masterpiece of a song.
HOW BEAUTIFUL, THANK YOU FOR THIS REACTION, BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES, BOTH OF MY BROTHERS FOUGHT IN VIET NAM, AND THEY BOTH CAME HOME, NOT THE SAME, BUT ALIVE, AND I AM GRATEFUL......DIRE STEAITS IN MY VIEW WAS ALWAYS SO UNDERRATED!!!!!
This song always hits home because a good friend from high school was killed in Vietnam. This band has so many varied styles of music. Money For Nothing was probably their biggest hit and I also highly recommend Ride Across The River. Much appreciate your reactions.
I recall one of the greatest endings from one of the best episodes of Miami Vice. The Dire Straits song playing the last 6 minutes while the black Daytona prowls through the darkened streets of Miami. The distant thunder. Crockett and Tubbs about to discover the mystery hidden behind the wall in the abandoned house. Just amazing.
Mr Knopfler provides the backup to his own guitar's lead vocals for this song.
I'm glad to see that you have decided to listen to more of Dire Straits. My husband grew up with & is still friends with Mark & David Knopfler, although he's closer to Mark as he's laid-back, like my husband & both of them loved to have a laugh at another local, "Sting" (Gordon Sumner) who was not as humble, or talented, as Mark. We spend half of our lives in the UK, the other half in the USA. We always kept an open door to anyone who needed a "roof" but especially marines & naval personnel. We lost too many ourselves, both civilians & special forces operatives, who were also either friends or family members. I have CPTSD from, among other things, being blown up by a 400lb IRA car bomb, aged four & so, it was a privilege to lay under our trees with those men & women, without needing to say a word. They were all homesick, needing a LONG call home & a home-cooked meal, especially the new recruits. The incredible guitar on the album front was one of Mark's own! We received a CD of "Brothers in Arms" from Mark when it was recorded with the simple words, "This is for you. XO". We listened to the whole album in one sitting & there wasn't a dry eye in the house.....
ohhhh the guitar playing of mark knopfler just pure brilliance
This is the patriotism I can get behind.
Respect, from a Veteran.
Aaaahhhh.....shit. I'm going to cry.
Being ex military myself this is my anthem and still applicable today given I do a lot currently in Ukraine and it represents a tribute to current Brothers in Arms fighting and dying there. Beautiful piece with a lot of meaning. Thanks for reacting to this and showing the feeling you got from it.
A Vietnam War veteran, hits me right in my heart.
never served but i respect all those who have served and still serve our countries and freedoms
One of my favorites since I bought the album in high school. This song really resonates if you served or have family members who served. I'm the latter, many many family members who served - this song is so powerful. I adore the guitar in this.
These guys are great in that they have a tremendous range from the upbeat Sultans of Swing to this sad, somber, and remorseful tune, Brothers in Arms. Both songs are "moving" but, yet, in completely different ways. That is more than talent! That is true ART, and they oftentimes do the best versions LIVE! INCREDIBLE!
Polo: Glad that you found Mark’s music. This song makes me cry with every listening. I come from a family with a long military history. There is no glory in killing, after the first rush of battle….then a lifelong sadness for having to had to kill others. Good, bad or indifferent.
Thank you for taking this as seriously and respectful as should be. Bothers in arms travels beyond man made barriers. 🙏
There's a scene in The West Wing where president Bartlet is about to announce he's running again for another 4 years. It's night time. It's raining. And this music starts playing as he walks from his office to the podium to let the world know.
It gets me EVERY time.
One of the most beautiful songs ever written. 😢
This was the unofficial anthem for the British Army for years, starting around the Falklands war. Breaks my friends heart when he heard it because he was a survivor of the sinking of H. M. S. Sheffield.
A friend was on Galahad:they were shooting those they couldn't save from the flames...never over-rule a Royal Marines officer when it comes to landing ops...
Then you clearly didn’t understand the meaning of the song. Like most Brits didn’t. It’s an ANTI war song. It does t glorify war or soldiery. It complains about the pointlessness of war. I doubt I’ll live long enough until the majority of people understand this.
@@dxb8086 I don't believe for one second you are being serious mate? I think even a blind chimpanzee could see that this song isn't about glorifying war.
@@dxb8086did you serve??? If not, pipe down…..
I've been a fan of Dire Straits since I got their first album on 8-Track in 1978. I know it was mentioned below, but Telegraph Road and Romeo and Juliet are further examples of how incredibly diverse and talented this band really is. As a veteran, this song really resonates with me on many levels. Great reaction, by the way.
Have a look at the version by The Bands Of The H.M.Royal Marines, very moving played by the military, thank you to all personnel for their service 🇬🇧
That is one of _THE_ songs. Ever. Just powerful and perfect.
You're right: legendary and, oh yeah, emotional. Every time I hear it. As timeless as war.
The live version is even better😊
I love your reaction 🙂
Mark has recently sold 100 of his guitars for charity at Christies auction for over £8 million and is donating 25% to charity
Really? What a fckin legend!
So many great versions. This is a particular favourite of mine: ua-cam.com/video/EMRJT2ebvAk/v-deo.htmlsi=hM6V1t9Dptf6uQkM
I think because it was a complete band who had no interest in sex drugs rock and roll. They just played their music. Lived for it and no outside influences.
Definitely not a druggie band. Beer and cigarettes, sure, but that's it. And they were in their 30s and married by this point. Mark has said in interviews that he was glad he didn't get famous till he was almost 30. He thinks things may have gone worse for him if it had happened when he was ten years younger.
Mate as great as that song is it's blown away by the Mandela concert or on the night live versions both are simply goosebumps level haunting but comforting. Anything they do live is taken to another level
Possibly the greatest finger picking guitar player of all time
I'd give your comment 10 upticks if I could Neil.
You say possibly the greatest finger picking guitar player ever. I say one of the best ever. You need to listen to Chet Atkins, from whom Mark Knopfler took guitar lessons.
I have eagerly awaited your return to Dire Straits. I love your reaction to Sultans of Swing. I would recommend listening to Telegraph Road from the same Alchemy concert. It is arguably better than Sultans! And another track that is different but freaking awesome is Private Investigations from the 1993 concert On the night. You will not be disappointed.
Beautiful song. My favorite song by Dire Straits is still, Telegraph Road. The intrinsic visualizations are wonderful. Good review Polo.
I’m not a huge Dire Straits fan but I really enjoy your reviews which are honest and often insightful. But you seem like a genuinely nice guy. Keep it up.
the song is about the falklands war between The U.K and Argentina in the 80's as someone who has served in the UK armed service this song is very emotional for me.
The video is an artistic masterpiece as well as the music.
I always tear up whenever I hear this song. Reminds me of my late dad who used to play Dire Straits in his car on our road trips around Kenya in the late 80s. I’m in my 40s now but amazing a song can trigger some happy memories in 3D
I´ve never had to fought in a War, but I do my time in the German Army in ´84-`85 and all I can say is..... We are always Brothers in Arms!
Simply... Mark Knopfler is a genius ! The first album I every bought was as a young man was Brother's in Arms, with this being the title track. I'm in my 50s now and great to see someone from a younger generation absolutely appreciate this amazing band. Thank you for your reaction to this song.
Thank you, Polo ❤ my son is in the military. Your regard for the sacrifice means a lot to me. This song kills me
Dire Straits. I’ll never forget their concert at Wembly Arena 40 yrs ago. They were amazing and unforgettable. Great memories ❤️
P man I been listening to this since I was 13 and im 60 now. still blows me away
Do the maths if you were 13 when you first heard it and your 60 now that makes it 1976. It was not release until 1985 and was written about the 1982 Falklands war. You would have been 22 when you first heard this as I’m the same age as you
Dire Straits are the greatest band I’ve ever seen live..by far. I loved your reaction to this Polo. You have a very calming demeanour and you’re a good man. I saw them live in Brisbane Australia in the mid nineties.
He keeps alive the soul of a good friend who was lost in the Falklands War... couldn't be more profound
One of their best songs. The guitar is outstanding (with some hints of David Gilmour) 'Telegraph Road' is another gem.
Great reaction Polo! Not ashamed to admit, this song gets me teary every time I hear it. The emotion in the guitar & lyrics is off the chart. Knopfler really captured the futility of war and how it doesn't matter which 'side' you're on - the combatants mostly want one thing - to be home, to live their life, and live it in peace! Cheers!
For those of us who remember a television show Miami Vice, the song was featured, it was so impactful. Heart wrenching actually.
The first 25 or so notes he plays tell almost the entire story.
If you want a full appreciation of Mark Knopfler’s musical genius, listen to “Romeo and Juliet”. First the original version released in 1981 when he was 32, then the version from Real Live Roadrunnings 25 years later. It was a great composition to start with, but the later version just tears at your heartstrings.
BTW I’ve thought for a long time that “Money for Nothing” came out of a visit to Circuit City 😜
The story behind the writing of ‘Money for Nothing’ is hilarious
I came here to say this. That song can leave me on the floor, sobbing and emotionally drained, but I still love it.
Ex Squaddie listening to this everytime takes me back to the late 70's and to friends that once was with us. Respect
My goodness ❤❤this is truly one of the greatest songs of all time, been listening to it since 1985 and it's even more emotional to me now than it's ever been 😢a lot of songs make me cry, but none as much as this one 😢😢I can't even listen to the song all the way through, it's too much to handle emotionally, absolutely incredible ❤️the live versions are even better 😮85 Wembley and 92 Nelson Mandela concert. I only discovered polo yesterday, he is genuinely moved by the songs he's hearing for the first time 😢❤
From 1985! Still coming back! Thank you Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits!!! And thanx for video! ❤❤
this ain't music ! it is ART
As an Old Navy Salt this songs draw the salt water out of my eyes. Many good men I served with now Long Gone!
Mark does something at many points in this song that make the guitar playing so expressive and emotional filled - he does what another favorite player Jeff Beck did a lot - he plays a note, and then as the note is sustaining, he rotates the volume knob slowly upwards so the volume increases.
So like the human voice, that can start softly, and then increase in intensity, this allows the guitar to "sing". It's truly a beautiful effect. Normally, you play a guitar note, and the highest volume is at the start, and the volume then tapers down, but when a note starts softly, and then slowly increases in volume, it sound like a human voice in it's expressiveness, and of course with a master guitarist like Mark or Jeff, they are also playing wonderful notes and bends at the same time they are modulating the volume in this way.
I can see why with the powerful lyrics, and the emotion filled guitar parts, and the reverent keyboard parts in the background, this song often brings men you have lost friends in combat to tears, it's just so powerful, so sad, but so beautiful. Thank you Dire straits for this masterpiece.
This song cuts right through my soul and makes me tear up every time I hear it.
Thanks for ypur thoughts on this song.
A long time ago, the keyboard player in the band Guy Fletcher lived next to us.
Knopfler is a genuinely great human being & recently auctioned all his guitars for charity - including the Gibson Les Paul he played on this recording.
It's a universal song for warriors & those who stand their ground.
Keep on keeping on.