Sailing To Philadelphia
Mark Knopfler

I am Jeremiah Dixon I am a Geordie boy

A glass of wine with you, sir, and the ladies I'll enjoy

All Durham and Northumberland is measured up by my own hand

It was my fate from birth to make my mark upon the earth

He calls me Charlie Mason a stargazer am I

It seems that I was born to chart the evening sky

They'd cut me out for baking bread but I had other dreams instead

This baker's boy from the west country would join the Royal Society

We are sailing to Philadelphia a world away from the coaly Tyne

Sailing to Philadelphia to draw the line

The Mason-Dixon Line

Now you're a good surveyor, Dixon, but I swear you'll make me mad

The West will kill us both you gullible Geordie lad

You talk of liberty how can America be free

A Geordie and a baker's boy in the forests of the Iroquois

Now hold your head up, Mason, see America lies there

The morning tide has raised the capes of Delaware

Come up and feel the sun a new morning has begun

Another day will make it clear why your stars should guide us here

We are sailing to Philadelphia a world away from the coaly Tyne

Sailing to Philadelphia to draw the line

The Mason-Dixon Line

Mark Knopfler release the CD "Sailing to Philadelphia" in 2000. While it struggled to the 60th spot on the Billboard 200, it climbed to number one in many European countries and was top 10 in at least sixteen countries. It did eventually go gold in the U.S. in 2004.

The title track was a duet with James Taylor. The song is presented in a biographical style with Knopfler singing the part of Jeremiah Dixon and Taylor as Charlie Mason. Mason, styled as a stargazer, was an astronomer (a hobby I sometimes pursue) and Dixon a surveyor. In the song, Dixon is referred to as a "Geordie boy/' a term referring to a person from the Tyneside region of England.

The term "coaly Tyne" refers to the Tyne River which runs through Northumberland and Newcastle upon Tyne, a coal mining center since the Middle Ages. The expression, "Carry Coals to Newcastle" indicates a futile effort since Newcastle abounds with coal. Knopfler, a Glaswegian by birth, spent much of his early life in Newcastle, his mothers home.

Alex has been performing this song for some time now. While I always enjoy the purity of his live renditions with his own pickin', his arrangement here certainly adds another dimension.