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Dire Straits — Once Upon A Time In The West
Album: Communiqué
Avg rating:
8.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 4572









Released: 1979
Length: 5:04
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Some people get a cheap laugh breaking up the speed limit
Scaring the pedestrians for a minute
Crossing up progress driving on the grass
Leaving just enough room to pass
Sunday driver never took a test
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west

Yes it's no use saying that you don't know nothing
It's still gonna get you if you don't do something
Sitting on a fence that's a dangerous course
Oh, you could even catch a bullet from the peace-keeping force
Even the hero gets a bullet in the chest
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west

Mother Mary your children are slaughtered
Some of you mothers ought to lock up your daughters
Who's protecting the innocenti
Heap big trouble in the land of plenty
Tell me how we're gonna do what's best
You guess once upon a time in the west

Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west

Once upon a time in the west
Comments (328)add comment
 Decoy wrote:

there will never be a song by Mark Knopfler that doesn't instantly scream this is Mark Knopfler. 



I have trained my kids to tell me this is Mark Knopfler when I ask.
It seems like it often isn't registered how prescient the lyrics to all DS songs were, and way more socially relevant than most 70s-80s noise, 
MK could have spared the world of the hookup with the Poilce person, but, hey, no-one's perfect.
RP should have  separate 11 button , just to see which songs give us that eleven feeling.  This idea have nothing with this particular song its 8 for me.
 OHMish wrote:

The older I get the more I appreciate Dire Straits. And I'm only 40 now. How will this end?



I'm 74 - it doesn't end ... I'll take it with me 😉
All time favorite Mark Knopfler song.
 BCarn wrote:

I'm sure Mr. Knopler et al rely on your rating.


Oh No! Some anonymous stranger (that can't speeel...) on the internet doesn't like my comment! Oh, Woe is me! LOL
they can do no wrong - anything they sing is perfect - I do not even care much what the words are  - however , the words are always perfect. take you away ....
 IvanTheMediocre wrote:

A rare 10 from me...


I'm sure Mr. Knopler et al rely on your rating.

we need a "This one goes to 11' button....
A rare 10 from me...
who needs a plectrum when you can do this?
Agree with Anika!!!
Wow, how this was blended in with the last song. Amazing, you guys matching guitar algorithm. Super Cool.
that bassline. so awesome. 
Oh my....Pick Withers' drumming....Oh my.....perfect.
 johnalexford wrote:

This whole station is a big problem for me. A song comes on that I like, and then I start scrolling through the comments...and then realize I'm at work and have work to do. Throw in a track like this and the memories come flooding back thinking about the good ole days...okay. Back to work.



So Very True!
 On_The_Beach wrote:

What doesn't?   ; )


a long motorcycle ride in the twisties . . . but some afterwards to celebrate would be in order
 Piranga wrote:

This one calls for whiskey.


What doesn't?   ; )
Went to rate this a "10". Discovered I already had!
At least I'm consistent! :)
 KeithBrofsky wrote:
Back in high school, I had the good fortune to see Dire Straits' first
tour, at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, circa 1975 if memory serves.
My buddy and I even managed to grab a couple abandoned seats in the 3rd
row during intermission. It was epic. The two brothers created such a
unique sound with their uniquely subtler guitar riffs. Mark Knopfler
continues to dazzle to this day.
 
Look after the king of R n R please 
 KeithBrofsky wrote:
Back in high school, I had the good fortune to see Dire Straits' first
tour, at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, circa 1975 if memory serves.
My buddy and I even managed to grab a couple abandoned seats in the 3rd
row during intermission. It was epic. The two brothers created such a
unique sound with their uniquely subtler guitar riffs. Mark Knopfler
continues to dazzle to this day.
 

I love hearing Americana passed through a good Marc Knoffler filter!
 johnalexford wrote:
This whole station is a big problem for me. A song comes on that I like, and then I start scrolling through the comments...and then realize I'm at work and have work to do. Throw in a track like this and the memories come flooding back thinking about the good ole days...okay. Back to work.
 
I don't know how I joined this club formally, but as a member, I can concur.
 johnalexford wrote:
This whole station is a big problem for me. A song comes on that I like, and then I start scrolling through the comments...and then realize I'm at work and have work to do. Throw in a track like this and the memories come flooding back thinking about the good ole days...okay. Back to work.
 
PREACH!!
right...back to work.
Back in high school, I had the good fortune to see Dire Straits' first
tour, at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, circa 1975 if memory serves.
My buddy and I even managed to grab a couple abandoned seats in the 3rd
row during intermission. It was epic. The two brothers created such a
unique sound with their uniquely subtler guitar riffs. Mark Knopfler
continues to dazzle to this day.
I remember idiots being disappointed because there was no @Sultans of Swing” on this record, and here I was, grooving to it every day.
How have I never heard this track?? SUPER!
This whole station is a big problem for me. A song comes on that I like, and then I start scrolling through the comments...and then realize I'm at work and have work to do. Throw in a track like this and the memories come flooding back thinking about the good ole days...okay. Back to work.
 jbuhl wrote:
Pick Withers makes all these old DS songs good.{#Cowboy}
 

yes yes yes~ The next three please? oh, well maybe next time? I love this song as well and it always gets me groovin' in my body and soul. 
 
Tippster wrote:
'eh.  To me his voice is like a dram of Macallan while sitting in a drafty pub on a cold, wet Scotland evening.  Rough, yet so smooth and soothing, warming you from the inside.

I flat out love this song, and so many others of his.  I wish Bill would play the next three songs on the album (News/Where Do You Think You're Going/Communique) in sequence, just like he does DSoM.
 

once upon a time a guitarist....
 inmanart wrote:
"you can even catch a bullet from a peacekeeping force..."
 

That is an ear worm I have had since I first heard the song.
"you can even catch a bullet from a peacekeeping force..."
Bill, you magnificent bastard. Weight of Love followed by Once Upon a Time...
 Decoy wrote:
there will never be a song by Mark Knopfler that doesn't instantly scream this is Mark Knopfler. 
 

What about "Money For Nothing"?
 dwhayslett wrote:

Are you sure that's a word? 
 

A S'MOTH is a campfire treat, where you sandwich a moth between graham cracker and chocolate, and toast over an open fire.
Toujours aussi bon, toujours d'actualité, toujours aussi frais.
 surfrider4life wrote:
in a word >>>>SMOTH
 
Are you sure that's a word? 
 capooti wrote:
ahahaha loved the dog out there :)
 
And again. Bill needs to get the animal to a dog training if it keeps on going like this.
I need this on vinyl. Used to have it but is gone missing. Excellent album. 
in a word >>>>SMOTH
ahahaha loved the dog out there :)
I agree.  He plays blues guitar without really playing the blues.
 

It is not that I don't like Knopfler's voice, I just like to hear his guitar so much more.
 
This is one of my top 3 Dire Straits songs. And I think Mark's voice is perfect for his music.
It is not that I don't like Knopfler's voice, I just like to hear his guitar so much more.
{#Notworthy} G O D L I K E !!!! {#Notworthy}
Hey, Bill! Was the dog barking at the postman? 
Good Doggie
The way that man makes a guitar talk... damn.
 Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Dire Straits at their most powerful. Moving lyrics and catchy tunes. Great stuff. I love this era of Straits. The later stuff is good too and Knopfler's solo stuff is excellent but this is peak Dire Straits in my opinion.

 
I   A G R E E   
 Cyclehawk wrote:
Great album, hard to believe it's almost 40 years old.

 
But wait, that would mean I'm ... uh ... aw, crap.  {#Wink}
Great album, hard to believe it's almost 40 years old.
RP has been on top form this morning. Dire Straits takes the cake!! {#Bananajam}
One of my favs.  Saw them in concert back in the 80's and the live extended version of this tune was remarkable.  Great album.

great - even though the Quality and musical craftmansship of the dire straits and later the soloworks of mark knopfler were always great.

the class and Quality of the first two and a half dire straits album was never matched up to again.


Dire Straits at its most classic.  I will never forget being introduced to the (then) entire Dire Straits collection by my Leicester-born chemistry teacher as a freshman in HS.  It is ageless! 


 cayenne wrote:

Sweet! I was just feeling nostalgic when I commented before - I had forgotten how much better 8-tracks sounded than cassettes of that era. My dad was a classical music fan and had invested in a good tape recorder, so I recorded my own, too. The blank tapes came in their own cardboard sleeve and we taped them together to make holders for our glove boxes. You could get the maximum number of tapes in there that way. When I moved on to cassettes. Maxell tapes were the only ones that would stand up to Gulf Coast heat, so they were the only ones I'd buy. Most of my friends thought I was a bit of a nut about my tapes, so it's fun to meet someone who remembers them the way I do. I'm not surprised that there are still some alive in the world - that's neat. Cheers!

 
Nakamichi Dragon for me. Soooo goood
 
 billk wrote:
great tune to smoke a texas brisket by!  yum on both accounts

 
If you can make great Texas brisket, you should be given a permanent, no-holds-barred, all-inclusive Get Out of Jail Free
card. 

Monopoly "Get out of jail, free" card 

This accords with all laws of man and nature. 
 coloradojohn wrote:
cayenne wrote:

Please tell me your AudioVox was an 8-track. Please?

  
It was! My buddies and I had so many 8-tracks and such decent systems in car and at home that we held out till the early '80s... Cassettes were too new and too few, and most weren't sturdy enough to last long at all. In fact, when we did get around to buying the new cassette decks, we immediately dubbed the music from the crappy factory tapes onto a rugged TDK or Maxell and did our own album artwork for it — always fun with a good buzz on. Auto-Reverse wasn't common, either. One thing about 8-tracks was that you could plug it in and just let the whole album go by; you did, if it was Floyd, The Cars, The Who, Dire Straits, The Doors, Tom Petty... In March of '90 I saw where a lot of the old 8-track tapes had ended up: in all the divey bars and munchie cafes of Thamel, Kathmandu!

 
Sweet! I was just feeling nostalgic when I commented before - I had forgotten how much better 8-tracks sounded than cassettes of that era. My dad was a classical music fan and had invested in a good tape recorder, so I recorded my own, too. The blank tapes came in their own cardboard sleeve and we taped them together to make holders for our glove boxes. You could get the maximum number of tapes in there that way. When I moved on to cassettes. Maxell tapes were the only ones that would stand up to Gulf Coast heat, so they were the only ones I'd buy. Most of my friends thought I was a bit of a nut about my tapes, so it's fun to meet someone who remembers them the way I do. I'm not surprised that there are still some alive in the world - that's neat. Cheers!
cayenne wrote:

Please tell me your AudioVox was an 8-track. Please?

  
It was! My buddies and I had so many 8-tracks and such decent systems in car and at home that we held out till the early '80s... Cassettes were too new and too few, and most weren't sturdy enough to last long at all. In fact, when we did get around to buying the new cassette decks, we immediately dubbed the music from the crappy factory tapes onto a rugged TDK or Maxell and did our own album artwork for it — always fun with a good buzz on. Auto-Reverse wasn't common, either. One thing about 8-tracks was that you could plug it in and just let the whole album go by; you did, if it was Floyd, The Cars, The Who, Dire Straits, The Doors, Tom Petty... In March of '90 I saw where a lot of the old 8-track tapes had ended up: in all the divey bars and munchie cafes of Thamel, Kathmandu!
there will never be a song by Mark Knopfler that doesn't instantly scream this is Mark Knopfler. 
 Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Dire Straits at their most powerful. Moving lyrics and catchy tunes. Great stuff. I love this era of Straits. The later stuff is good too and Knopfler's solo stuff is excellent but this is peak Dire Straits in my opinion.

 
Agreed.
Pick Withers makes all these old DS songs good.{#Cowboy}
straight 10 for DS' finest
Dire Straits at their most powerful. Moving lyrics and catchy tunes. Great stuff. I love this era of Straits. The later stuff is good too and Knopfler's solo stuff is excellent but this is peak Dire Straits in my opinion.
 Schmoogsley wrote:
Strange, I didn't like the Dire Straits at first. Then, I started listening to the stuff the radio WASN'T playing and became a fan. 

 
Including the stuff RP IS playing I hope {#Smile}
Strange, I didn't like the Dire Straits at first. Then, I started listening to the stuff the radio WASN'T playing and became a fan. 
 stickers11 wrote:
Timeless. Has aged as well as anything. Could be a brand new release and would still be fresh.
 
Yes, I too was thinking how well this and most other Dire Straits has aged.
No cheesy synth sounds to distract you; just tasty playin'.
 OHMish wrote:
The older I get the more I appreciate Dire Straits. And I'm only 40 now. How will this end?

 
Nothing wrong with that. I'm 40 myself and I just logged in to this website just to make sure this one has a 10 from my side.

I remember it was 20 years ago when this song taught me that everything I thought I knew about the superiority of the CD over everything else was a load of BS. I heard this on vinyl and everything became clear.

Now, 20 something years later I have two records of this :-)

 
Solid 10 here.
The older I get the more I appreciate Dire Straits. And I'm only 40 now. How will this end?
 aspicer wrote:
Just have to weigh in that this is being played too much on RP!  Exponentially more than all the other great DS tunes that could be substituted.  Great song - let's not wear it out Bill.

 
Brass.
Just have to weigh in that this is being played too much on RP!  Exponentially more than all the other great DS tunes that could be substituted.  Great song - let's not wear it out Bill.
 Piranga wrote:
This one calls for whiskey.

 
I'm with you!  Homemade fireball whiskey!  (Throw red hots, atomic fireball jawbreakers, or hot Tamales candy in and let it dissolve.  I used Tamales for this batch—the cinnamon stuff is the outer layer, so when the red has all come off, sift the candy insides out and toss'em.  Just as good as the spendy stuff—way cheaper, and it doesn't have anti-freeze in it.  (Google it)
This one calls for whiskey.
Timeless. Has aged as well as anything. Could be a brand new release and would still be fresh.
 gregskrtic wrote:
I can't stand it any longer—must bump this from 9 —> 10 !  {#Bananajam}

 
{#Cheesygrin}
I can't stand it any longer—must bump this from 9 —> 10 !  {#Bananajam}
 billk wrote:
great tune to smoke a texas brisket by!  yum on both accounts

 
Well, I'll agree with y'all — kinda.  It's definitely good to smoke something by, that's for sure! 
great tune to smoke a texas brisket by!  yum on both accounts
Once Upon A Time stupedestrians In The West.
My favorite DS tune by a long shot.
I maintain the Godlike rating I gave this years ago.
 
 Lazarus wrote:
This song is still soooo good for the ears...

 
Sing it brother
What a legendary man, band, song!
Saw him (Knopfler) 2 times in Belgrade.Both times i was blown away. {#Clap}
You said it all. And in a beautiful way {#Meditate}
Fugi wrote:
If you listen a song and for years cant find anything similar means its a MasterPiece.
This is not a song of its time
This and most of their song is songs of all the time humans will exist.
 


I got so used latelly to the live version, just because I happen to have the CD of Alchemy around, that I had forgotten of this pure sound, almost funky, that got all its depth in my old vinyl system (Yes, I have to definitely recover that!)
 FrankDebbieCote wrote:
I don't play guitar and I've always wondered why MK's guitar playing is so distict from every other guitarist. I can always tell its him playing. 

Just wondered.

btw, love everything he's done.  
 
In the Dire Straits days he often used a few different Fender guitars with minimal gain and moderate reverb — seemingly the same settings on about 85% of his electric guitar recordings to this day.  Also his finger-picking style is distinctive, as noted previously.  Many guitarists vary their sound settings and guitars for different recordings but he seldom seemed interested in doing so.
 FrankDebbieCote wrote:
I don't play guitar and I've always wondered why MK's guitar playing is so distict from every other guitarist. I can always tell its him playing. 

Just wondered.

btw, love everything he's done.  
 
He often used a few different Fender guitars (especially in the Dire Straits days) with minimal gain and moderate reverb — seemingly the same settings on about 85% of his electric guitar recordings.  Also his finger-picking style is distinctive, as noted previously.  Most guitarists vary their sound settings and guitars for different recordings but he seldom seems interested in doing so.
 FrankDebbieCote wrote:
I don't play guitar and I've always wondered why MK's guitar playing is so distict from every other guitarist. I can always tell its him playing. 

Just wondered.

btw, love everything he's done.  
 
Mark doesn't play with a pick. He gets a warm, plucking sound by using his fingertips.
I don't play guitar and I've always wondered why MK's guitar playing is so distict from every other guitarist. I can always tell its him playing. 

Just wondered.

btw, love everything he's done.  
If you listen a song and for years cant find anything similar means its a MasterPiece.
This is not a song of its time
This and most of their song is songs of all the time humans will exist.
OK, I have to admit this was pretty good. But I still think this band comes around a bit too often for my taste. I know I should do something about my anti-Knopfler prejudice. I'll put it on my resolutions list for January.
This song is still soooo good for the ears...
This world needs more Mark Knopfler music.
saw them when this first came out and we were simply awestruck .. {#Notworthy}
Great tune!! Stunning guitar work. What a band!!
 coloradojohn wrote:
Ahh, once upon a time in 1979...a bad-ass '70 Cutlass coupe with an AudioVox tape deck, powerful Jensen speakers, killer weed, Frisbee in the park, endless beer, and lots and lots of Dire Straits (and The Cars, Pink Floyd, Stones, Zep, The Who...them were The Days, eh?)!

 
Please tell me your AudioVox was an 8-track. Please?
Bad A$$....  {#Devil_pimp}
{#Notworthy} ........ as good as it gets ......... 
{#Notworthy} 


 
 
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Mark's tasty Strat playing (again) makes the song.

 
Ditto, ditto, ditto. His Strat makes it all.


Mark's tasty Strat playing (again) makes the song.
mhmmmmm
Plinky plonky music

Yeah, better to let Mark reach out and touch you. Good call.
The good, the bad, and the virtuoso.

ajlept wrote:
Ah, the memories of a small venue in Jacksonville, 1978, front row seats jammin' to this and other soon to be classics. Could of reached out and touched Mark, but that would have got me booted. Even stoned, I knew better.
 

Ah, the memories of a small venue in Jacksonville, 1978, front row seats jammin' to this and other soon to be classics. Could of reached out and touched Mark, but that would have got me booted. Even stoned, I knew better.
I guess that makes you even more boring.
 

ngunnell wrote:
So boring!


 


I bought this the weekend I moved into my first apartment as a kid.  Such great memories, what a liberating feeling.  
 
{#Notworthy}
9 goes to 10.
Almost can't believe I hadn't rated this before - instant 9!
Ahh, once upon a time in 1979...a bad-ass '70 Cutlass coupe with an AudioVox tape deck, powerful Jensen speakers, killer weed, Frisbee in the park, endless beer, and lots and lots of Dire Straits (and The Cars, Pink Floyd, Stones, Zep, The Who...them were The Days, eh?)!
{#Bananajam}Yes Please. I'll take more.
On the day that  JJ Cale dies, it's good to hear this by one he obviously influenced
Dire Straits have not made any bad songs. Always silky smooth :)
 jmdh wrote:
There was something... different about this version. Then I realised that it was the album original, and grew up knowing the version from Alchemy... Now that is a superb rendition.

 

Strange... The difference between the two is huge IMO. The Alchemy version has way more distortion on the guitar and Terry Williams' panic drumming doesn't even come close to the very subtle drums of Pick Withers in this version.

Putting all of that aside, Knopfler puts an additional extra minutes of improvising to Alchemy's rendition.


Anyway, both versions are fantastic, but not quite alike if you ask me...


10        
Nice!
There was something... different about this version. Then I realised that it was the album original, and grew up knowing the version from Alchemy... Now that is a superb rendition.