Lights of Taormina

Album: Tracker (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This Tracker track reflects Mark Knopfler's knack for writing on the road and turning his experiences there into music. "Over the years I've learned to write on the go," he told Billboard magazine.

    Knopfler added that he started writing this song, "where I was actually sitting on this beautiful terrace, looking down at Taormina."
  • The popular tourist destination of Taormina is a small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Knopfler played at Taormina's ancient Greek theater on July 16, 2013.
  • Our guess is that Knopfler was looking down on Taormina from Hotel Villa Angela, which is owned by Jim Kerr, the lead singer of Simple Minds. Kerr fell in love with the island of Sicily when he visited on tour, and later set up the hotel, which is set on a hillside above Taormina.

Comments: 3

  • Karenmac from RyeJust wonderful. I saw Mark K and Bob D performing together. Will never ever forget that experience. As Undrell says - effortless - such talent
  • Undrell from Francebeautiful song.. in concurrence with Paul from US comment, this song feels quite Dylan-ish, musically very tijuana/TexMex feel to it... would fit with Pat Garrett soundtrack well.. MK stamp is effortless combination of history mixed with contemporary context... love it
  • Paul from United StatesIn the CD booklet, the lyrics to this song are accompanied by a photo of Knopfler singing at the same microphone with Bob Dylan. Many of the song's lyrics seem to echo lines from Dylan's work: "seems like another lifetime," "her sweet señor," "the chimes of history," etc. It seems to me that the character in the song was at least partly inspired by Bob, who has toured with Mark frequently and worked with him on several projects starting in the late 1970's.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-Nighters

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-NightersSong Writing

These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.

Famous Singers' First Films

Famous Singers' First FilmsSong Writing

A look at the good (Diana Ross, Eminem), the bad (Madonna, Bob Dylan) and the peculiar (David Bowie, Michael Jackson) film debuts of superstar singers.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."