Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
So many mouths
To feed on the farm
Sonny was the second
To the last one born
His mamma ran away
And his daddy beat him bad
And he grew up wild
Good love he never had
He had a left
Like henry’s hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead
Well he hung with the hoods
He wouldn’t stroke the fans
But he had dynamite
In both his hands
Boom bam
Like the slammer door
The bell and the can
And the bodies on the floor
Beware the bear’s in town
Somebody’s money says
The bear’s going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
The writers didn’t like him
The fight game jocks
With his lowlife backers
And his hands like rocks
They didn’t want to have
A bogey man
They didn’t like him
And he didn’t like them
Black cadillac
Alligator boots
Money in the pockets
Of his sharkskin suits
Some say the bear
Took a flop
They couldn’t believe it
When they saw him drop
He had a left
Like henry’s hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead
Joe louis was his hero
He tried to be the same
But a criminal child
Wears a ball and chain
So the civil rights people
Didn’t want him on the throne
And the hacks and the cops
Wouldn’t leave him alone
Beware the bear’s in town
Somebody’s money says
The bear’s going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
At the foot of his bed
With his feet on the floor
There was dope in his veins
And a pistol on the drawer
There was no investigation
As such
He hated needles
But he knew too much
Criss-crossed
On his back
Scars from his daddy
Like slavery tracks
The second-last child
Was the second-last king
Never again was it the same
In the ring
He had a left
Like henry’s hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead
They never could be sure
About the day he was born
A motherless child
Set to working on the farm
And they never could be sure
About the day he died
The bear was the king
They cast aside
Beware the bear’s in town
Somebody’s money says
The bear’s going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
To feed on the farm
Sonny was the second
To the last one born
His mamma ran away
And his daddy beat him bad
And he grew up wild
Good love he never had
He had a left
Like henry’s hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead
Well he hung with the hoods
He wouldn’t stroke the fans
But he had dynamite
In both his hands
Boom bam
Like the slammer door
The bell and the can
And the bodies on the floor
Beware the bear’s in town
Somebody’s money says
The bear’s going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
The writers didn’t like him
The fight game jocks
With his lowlife backers
And his hands like rocks
They didn’t want to have
A bogey man
They didn’t like him
And he didn’t like them
Black cadillac
Alligator boots
Money in the pockets
Of his sharkskin suits
Some say the bear
Took a flop
They couldn’t believe it
When they saw him drop
He had a left
Like henry’s hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead
Joe louis was his hero
He tried to be the same
But a criminal child
Wears a ball and chain
So the civil rights people
Didn’t want him on the throne
And the hacks and the cops
Wouldn’t leave him alone
Beware the bear’s in town
Somebody’s money says
The bear’s going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
At the foot of his bed
With his feet on the floor
There was dope in his veins
And a pistol on the drawer
There was no investigation
As such
He hated needles
But he knew too much
Criss-crossed
On his back
Scars from his daddy
Like slavery tracks
The second-last child
Was the second-last king
Never again was it the same
In the ring
He had a left
Like henry’s hammer
A right like betty bamalam
Rode with the muggers
In the dark and dread
And all them sluggers
Went down like lead
They never could be sure
About the day he was born
A motherless child
Set to working on the farm
And they never could be sure
About the day he died
The bear was the king
They cast aside
Beware the bear’s in town
Somebody’s money says
The bear’s going down
Yeah, the bear never smiles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Sonny’s going down
For miles and miles
Lyrics submitted by redmax
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Techno Ted
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Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Dreamwalker
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
This is another one of those songs that seems to be inspired by Mark Knopfler reading a specific biography or history book (similar to "Boom, Like That" and "Sailing to Philadelphia"). If I had to guess, it would be "The Devil and Sonny Liston," by Nick Tosches, which prominently recounts a lot of the things that Knopfler refers to, such as his abuse by his father, his virtual enslavement to the mob, his supposedly thrown fight, his heroin addiction, etc.
this song is obviously about Sonny Liston, who i've never heard of but am guessing was a boxer. the part that catches my eye is "like henry's hammer" which must refer to John Henry, the Hammerman. I know this kinda stuff, i'm way into tall tales.
There reference to 'Henry's hammer' refers to Henry Cooper, the British heavyweight boxer, who sat the then Cassius Clay on his backside, and almost beat him.<br /> Cassius Clay then went on to do the 'impossible' and defeated Sonny Liston.<br /> Cassius Clay later changed his name to Mohammed Ali.
@Rodan2000 <br /> I'm a bit late with this, but "Henry's Hammer" ( as every British boxing fan would know) refers to the left hook of British heavyweight great Henry Cooper.<br /> Indeed, Henry used that " hammer " to flatten, and almost beat, Cassius Clay ( Ali) , back in the 1969s.
Sonny Lison's real name is Charles Liston, and yes he was a boxer. :)
"The Devil & Sonny Liston" is mentioned in the credits for the Shangri-La album, so I guess Knopfler did draw inspiration from it. What a great record.
"The Devil & Sonny Liston" is mentioned in the credits for the Shangri-La album, so I guess Knopfler did draw inspiration from it. What a great record.