Sailing To Philadelphia
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
I am Jeremiah Dixon I am a Geordie boy
A glass of wine with you sir and the ladies Ill 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 is 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 released 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 mother’s 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.
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 mother’s 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.
FFrom the Sea to the Shore
FThe Man from Tralee
The Coaly Tyne