Mark Knopfler’s music and lyrics tell the story of ordinary people. In Sultans of Swing, he tells a story about a band just starting out in music. Brothers in Arms is the story of soldier dying on the field of battle. Private Investigations is a story of a private detective. Mark likes to watch people in their every day lives and write songs about them.

Money for Nothing, for example was written in an appliance outlet. Mark started jotting down what he heard and saw around him in the store. When interviewed about Money for Nothing, Mark stated he had tone down the rhetoric in his lyrics from the shop that day to avoid seeming vulgar.

This is in stark contrast to many other artists on the charts today. Many feel they have the right to express whatever they like and wonder why their music is banned from radio and television. The fact that Mark Knopfler respects his audience and these boundaries sets him apart from most musicians today.