You hear it absentmindedly and it seems like one of Mark Knopfler‘s many soft songs. You listen closely and behind Watch Me Gone, which the musician released today, there is a deeply personal and bittersweet story.
A departing train, a city, someone to say goodbye to, a dream that only one in a million manages to achieve. Watch Me Gone is the tale of when Knopfler left Newcastle upon Tyne, in northern England, to pursue the desire of being a musician. In some way, it’s also the farewell of a teenager to his own childhood, a subtly melancholic goodbye to what is left behind: the protagonist of the song is leaving, but not in the mood for rejoicing because “there were so many things that were wrong”.
On one hand, there’s the aspiring musician dreaming of touring with Bob Dylan, who is mentioned in the lyrics along with Van Morrison, on the other hand, there’s God laughing from above “at a boy and his plans”. Yet, as Knopfler sings, “I knew there was something and I knew there was no choice”.
“The dreams of a teenager… for me, they have always been the fuel that keeps you going,” says Knopfler in a statement, recalling the importance of the “fire” that drives the protagonist to leave the city. “That’s why I’ll still cross the street to look at a guitar shop window. I remember going to City Hall to see Van Morrison or Bob Dylan and wanting to do it myself. What are the statistical chances of making it? But I was a young man with a comical attitude determined to succeed.”
Watch Me Gone is the second single from Knopfler’s new album One Deep River, which will be released on April 12th. The first is Ahead of the Game released in January. The band lineup includes, in addition to Knopfler on guitars, Jim Cox and Guy Fletcher on keyboards, Glenn Worf on bass, Ian Thomas on drums, Danny Cummings on percussion, Richard Bennett on guitar, Greg Leisz on pedal steel, Mike McGoldrick on flute and bagpipes, John McCusker on violin, and sisters Emma and Tamsin Topolski on vocals.
The album’s connection to the past and its roots is exemplified by the cover photo depicting the Tyne River bridge, one of the symbols of Newcastle.