While not as popular as subsequent albums, Golden Heart, Mark Knopfler's first solo album, is a real treasure, a masterpiece of songwriting and guitar work. On its 30th anniversary, let's revisit some of the stand out tracks on the album that launched Mark Knopfler's solo career.
Darling Pretty
Heal me with a smile, Darling Pretty
Heal me with a smile and a heart of gold
Carry me awhile, my Darling Pretty
Heal my aching heart and soul
Such a beautiful song with a rocking guitar solo, Darling Pretty is a strong opener to the album. The imagery in the music video fits well too, with the men stuck in traffic like castaways lost upon an endless sea of cars as the woman in the red dress, Darling Pretty, walks past them offering a reprieve from their dreary circumstances.
Mark ends the song with such a positive hope:
There will come a day, Darling Pretty
There will come a day when hearts can fly
Love will find a way, my Darling Pretty
Find a heaven for you and I
Golden Heart
The unassuming title track of this album is a subtle love song with incredible levels of depth and really showcases Mark's beautiful poetic lyrics. On the surface, it describes a man wearing a golden heart necklace (presumably with a photo inside) that his love gave him before he left traveling. Within this basic premise, Mark weaves some incredible imagery, like stopping the pendulum of time so they can be together:
Then we swirled around each other and the thread was spun
To some Arcadian band
I would stop it from swinging like a pendulum
Just to hold time in my hand
Moreover, his talent for descriptive imagery like the "cannonball of history" simultaneously holds multiple meanings (both the antique jewelry itself as well as the cannonball of her love hitting him):
And you shot me with a cannonball of history
A long forgotten art I'd be turning it over as our words ran free
I'd hold your golden heart
As he travels across the world, he literally carries the amulet but also he carries her love in his heart.
Don't You Get It
Looking back on it, this one really reminds me of Trapper Man and Heavy Up with the idea of "my way" vs "your way". In particular, Mark described Trapper Man as a metaphor for the relationship between the artist and the record labels, and this comes through here too:
it's the idea of not wanting to go your way but wanting to go my way, and it just applies to so many things, you know. If the record company wants you to do something or other and you say 'No, I don't want to do that, I want to do it this way.' And really, you could apply it to anything that you want, I think it's important to be able to please yourself because I think if you can't please yourself then you can't please anybody.
You can certainly see the parallel with the transition from the huge stadium-filling world tours of Dire Straits to the smaller, quieter life of Mark Knopfler the solo artist; as Mark said so clearly above, he had to give all that up to be true to himself.
Cannibals
My favorite track on the album, Cannibals is so upbeat and positive and you can clearly hear the similarities with Walk of Life. Mark brings his personal geography into this one in a prominent way:
my own dad said to me once when I woke up in the middle of the night, I must have said I was worried about cannibals and he said, 'Well, once upon a time there were cannibals, now there are no cannibals any more, go back to sleep.'
More broadly, it's about parenting and allaying his son's concerns while also pondering big questions about life.
Done With Bonaparte
True to form, this is a classic Mark Knopfler case study about a soldier in Napoleon's army just trying to get home after the failed invasion of Russia. As with all his case studies, Mark takes it seriously and strives to create an accurate portrayal of the character:
I was reading about, first novels and then historical novels and books about the period, I ended up once I started writing 'Done With Bonaparte' I found that I had to even research it ... asking questions of heads of history departments and things
Moreover, only Mark Knopfler could work an accordion into a song like this so seamlessly!
Final Thoughts
Mark Knopfler took the road less traveled - walking away from the fame and prestige at the height of Dire Straits's popularity. Instead, he pursued his passion of writing music that was true to himself. Golden Heart has all the elements that will define Mark's solo career for the next 30 years and beyond. We are so lucky to have this collection of music to enjoy.