Songfacts®:

• Dire Straits was formed in Deptford, London in 1977. Here, Knopfler recalls how he was desperate to leave Deptford, which he referred to as the "armpit of London."
  
  And I'll be out of this place
  And down the road wherever
  There but for the grace, etcetera
  I'll see you later but it's 1979
  And I'm picking my way out of here
  One song at a time
  
  Knopfler told Uncut the song title came from something Chet Atkins said to him. "We've become pals and when he talks about his childhood he gets quite emotional. He didn't even have the money for a coat to walk to school in and the winter is damn cold where he lives. So he used his guitar to pick his way out of poverty one song at a time. As you get older there is an appreciation for the journey you've been on. As a rocker the life is transient, but of course sometimes you look back and wish you could have savored that these fleeting moments a bit more."