Sailing to Philadelphia is the second solo album by
Mark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, released on 26 September 2000. The title track is drawn from
Thomas Pynchon's novelMason & Dixon is a postmodernist novel by American author Thomas Pynchon published in 1997. It centers on the collaboration of the historical Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in their astronomical and surveying exploits in Cape Colony, Saint Helena, Great Britain and along the Mason-Dixon line in...
about
Charles MasonCharles Mason was an English astronomer who made significant contributions to 18th-century science and American history, particularly through his involvement with the survey of the Mason-Dixon line, which came to mark the division between the northern and southern United States...
and
Jeremiah DixonJeremiah Dixon was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason-Dixon line....
, the two English surveyors who established the border between
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and
MarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
,
DelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
and
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the 1760s. The border later became known as the
Mason-Dixon LineThe Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
and has been used since the 1820s to denote the border between the
Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and the
Northern United StatesNorthern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
. The album contains featured vocal appearances by
James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
,
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, and
Glenn TilbrookGlenn Martin Tilbrook is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid 1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics...
and
Chris DiffordChris Difford is a singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer....
.
By 2002, the album had sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. In some territories—Western Europe for example—the album was released as an HDCD and a 5.1 Surround Sound DVD-A.
Track listing
All songs were written by Mark Knopfler, except where noted.
International release
- "What It Is" – 4:57
- "Sailing to Philadelphia" – 5:29 (Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
)
- "Who's Your Baby Now" – 3:05
- "Baloney Again" – 5:09
- "The Last Laugh" – 3:22
- "Silvertown Blues" – 5:32
- "El Macho" – 5:29
- "Prairie Wedding" – 4:26
- "Wanderlust" – 3:52
- "Speedway at Nazareth" – 6:23
- "Junkie Doll" – 4:34
- "Sands of Nevada" – 3:56
- "One More Matinee" – 3:57
UK release
- "What It Is" – 4:57
- "Sailing to Philadelphia" – 5:29 (Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
)
- "Who's Your Baby Now" – 3:05
- "Baloney Again" – 5:09
- "The Last Laugh" – 3:22
- "Do America" – 4:11
- "Silvertown Blues" – 5:32
- "El Macho" – 5:29
- "Prairie Wedding" – 4:26
- "Wanderlust" – 3:52
- "Speedway at Nazareth" – 6:23
- "Junkie Doll" – 4:34
- "Sands of Nevada" – 3:56
- "One More Matinee" – 3:57
North American release
- "What It Is" – 4:57
- "Sailing to Philadelphia" – 5:29 (Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
)
- "Who's Your Baby Now" – 3:05
- "Baloney Again" – 5:09
- "The Last Laugh" – 3:22
- "Do America" – 4:11
- "El Macho" – 5:29
- "Prairie Wedding" – 4:26
- "Wanderlust" – 3:52
- "Speedway at Nazareth" – 6:23
- "Junkie Doll" – 4:34
- "Silvertown Blues" – 5:32
- "Sands of Nevada" – 3:56
Credits
Music
- Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
– vocals, guitar, producer
- Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
– guitars, string instruments
- Jim Cox – piano, Hammond organ
- Guy Fletcher
Guy Wilson Fletcher is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as the keyboardist in the British rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his involvement in nearly every part of Mark Knopfler's solo work to date.-Biography:Fletcher was born into a...
– keyboard, backing vocals
- Glenn Worf
Glenn Worf is one of the premier Nashville session bassists. He was born in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has concentrated on the bass guitar since he was thirteen. He majored in music at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Inevitably his talents forced him to abandon the...
– bass guitar
- Chad Cromwell
Chad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
– drums
- James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
– vocals (on "Sailing to Philadelphia")
- Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
– vocals (on "The Last Laugh")
- Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
and David RawlingsDavid Todd Rawlings is a professional guitarist and singer. He is best known as the longtime musical partner of bluegrass singer-songwriter Gillian Welch.David attended the Berklee College of Music and studied with guitar professor Lauren Passarelli....
– vocals (on "Prairie Wedding" and "Speedway at Nazareth")
- Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid 1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics...
and Chris DiffordChris Difford is a singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer....
– vocals (on "Silvertown Blues")
- Aubrey Haynie
Aubrey Haynie is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle and mandolin. In his career, he has recorded three studio albums for the Sugar Hill Records label, all three of which contained mostly songs that he wrote himself...
– violin (on "What It Is" and "Speedway at Nazareth")
- Paul Franklin
Paul Franklin is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a steel guitarist. He began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell's road band; in addition he toured with Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. He has since become a prolific session musician in Nashville,...
– pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar
- Danny Cummings – percussion
- Mike Haynes – flugelhorn
- Jim Hoke – autoharp, harmonica
- Jim Horn – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Wayne Jackson – trumpet
- Harvey Thompson - tenor saxophone
- Frank Ricotti - marimba
- Duane Starling - vocals
- Gillian Welch - vocals
- Chris Willis – vocals
Production
- Chuck Ainlay
Chuck Ainlay is a record producer. He has worked with Mark Knopfler on much of Knopfler's solo work, in addition to some Dire Straits material....
– producer, engineer, mixing
- Jon Bailey – assistant engineer
- Graham Lewis – assistant
- Mark Ralston – assistant
- Aaron Swihart - assistant
- Denny Purcell – mastering
- Jonathan Russell - mastering assistant
- Andrew Williams - portrait photography
- Eric Conn – editing
Album charts
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 2000 |
German Albums Chart |
1 |
| 2000 |
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Albums Chart |
1 |
| 2000 |
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Albums Chart |
1 |
| 2000 |
Swiss Albums Chart |
1 |
| 2000 |
Austrian Albums Chart |
2 |
| 2000 |
IcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
Albums Chart |
2 |
| 2000 |
Dutch Albums Chart |
2 |
| 2000 |
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Albums Chart |
2 |
| 2000 |
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Albums Chart |
2 |
| 2000 |
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Albums Chart |
3 |
| 2000 |
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Albums Chart |
3 |
| 2000 |
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Albums Chart |
4 |
| 2000 |
Polish Albums Chart OLiS is the official list of the highest selling music albums in Poland. The list exists since October 23, 2000 and is provided by ZPAV....
|
9 |
| 2000 |
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Albums Chart |
4 |
| 2000 |
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
|
4 |
| 2000 |
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Albums Chart |
7 |
| 2000 |
New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Albums Chart |
10 |
| 2000 |
Australia The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
Albums Chart |
16 |
| 2000 |
Canada CRIA A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...
Albums Chart |
19 |
| 2000 |
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Albums Chart |
19 |
| 2000 |
Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
60 |
Certifications
| Organisation |
Level |
Date |
| BPI – UK |
Silver |
13 October 2000 |
| BPI – UK |
Gold |
13 October 2000 |
| IFPI – Switzerland |
Platinum |
2000 |
| SNEP - France |
Double Gold |
2000 |
| CRIA – Canada |
Gold |
2001 |
| RIAA - U.S. |
Gold |
9 September 2004 |
| BVMI - Germany |
Platinum |
2001 |
What It Is
"
What It Is" was the first single from the album
CD single
- "What It Is"
- "The Long Highway"
Maxi CD single
- "What It Is"
- "Let's See You"
- "The Long Highway"
- "Camerado"
There appears to be a slightly different version of this song with one change in the lyrics. The standard lyric on the second chorus is : "And it's cold on a tollgate where the Caledonian blues". But on the album "
The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private InvestigationsThe Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations is a 2005 best of album. Named after their 1982 hit single, it consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from the majority of the group's six studio albums from 1978 up to the group's dissolution in 1995...
" the lyric is : "And it's cold on a tollgate where the drums beat the tattoo". An extended version of
What It Is (released in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) circulates on the internet. It has one additional verse:
And the highwayman stands blowing on his fingers by the green
I've walked inside his shoes before so I always buy his magazine
He's with a local mystery with blood stains on her hands
I like the way she winks at me but I leave her with the highwayman
The instrumental portion of the song serves as the theme music for the
CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
radio show,
DispatchesDispatches is a Canadian radio program, which airs Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on CBC Radio One. The program, hosted by Rick MacInnes-Rae, airs documentary reports on international news and feature topics...
.
Sailing to Philadelphia (single)
"
Sailing to Philadelphia" was the second single from the album of the same name by
Mark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
. The song is duet between Knopfler and American singer
James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
.
The song is written in an autobiographical style, and is the story of
Jeremiah DixonJeremiah Dixon was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason-Dixon line....
and
Charlie MasonCharles Mason was an English astronomer who made significant contributions to 18th-century science and American history, particularly through his involvement with the survey of the Mason-Dixon line, which came to mark the division between the northern and southern United States...
, a "
GeordieGeordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
boy" and an astronomer, respectively, who sailed to America from the UK. Per the song, Dixon (
Mark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
) has predicted that there is the "land of opportunity" to the west, which Mason (
James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
), the "stargazer" does not believe. Towards the end of the song, the lyrics suggest that Dixon was correct.
CD single
- "Sailing to Philadelphia" (edit)
- "Going Home" (live)
Maxi CD single
- "Sailing to Philadelphia" (edit)
- "Going Home" (live)
- "Baloney Again" (live)
- "El Macho" (live)
Silvertown Blues
"
Silvertown Blues" was the third and final single from the album
Sailing to Philadelphia by
Mark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
. It was released as a commercial single in Holland and Belgium only, but it got some radio airplay in several European countries, notably in France. Oddly, the song was not part of the live set during the
Sailing to Philadelphia world tour.