Lights of Taormina by Mark Knopfler

Album: Tracker (2015)

License This Song

lyrics

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

More Songfacts:

Cradle Of LoveBilly Idol

When singing "Cradle Of Love," Billy Idol typically changes a line to, "This song is so cheesy."

Can't Get You Out Of My HeadKylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" received more airplay during the 2000s than any other song in the UK.

Summer BreezeSeals & Crofts

On the surface, "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts is just a song about a guy coming home from work, but the duo claimed it had a deeper meaning about finding direction in one's personal life.

Just DanceLady Gaga

"Just Dance" was Lady Gaga's first hit, and it also brought the techno-synth sound that had been popular in Europe for the previous decade to the United States.

New Order got the title for "Blue Monday" from an illustration that read "Goodbye Blue Monday" in the Kurt Vonnegut book Breakfast Of Champions. The image refers to the invention of the washing machine improving housewives' lives.

Your SongElton John

Bernie Taupin was 17 when he wrote the lyrics to Elton John's "Your Song." Looking back, he says it's "one of the most naïve and childish lyrics in the entire repertoire of music."