Music

Realliveroadrunning

Real Live Roadrunning

Album Credits

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris: vocals
Mark Knopfler: guitars
Richard Bennet: additional guitars
Danny Cummings: drums
Stuart Duncan: fiddle, mandolin
Matt Rollings: keyboards
Glen Worf: bass

DVD Credits:
Directed by Martyn Atkins
Produced by James Pluta
Executive producer John Beug
Co-producers: Diarmuid Quin and Peter Standish

Songs written by Mark Knopfler except "Red Dirt Girl" and "Belle Starr" written by Emmylou Harris. "Born to Run" written by Paul Kennerley. "Boulder to Birmingham" written by Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff.

Released: Mercury/Warner Bros. (2006)

Real Live Roadrunning

  • 1. Right Now (live)
    Miles between us here we are
    side by side in a stranded car
    Right now, baby right now
    And it’s too dark to see
    Anyhow so where are we
    Right now, baby, right now
    You could say we’ve both come down
    To a place called lonesome town
    When did you lose a hold on me
    Anyhow and where are we
    Right now, oh baby right now

    We stood up and said ‘I do’
    Vowed to see each other through
    Right now, baby right now
    I’m looking down this road tonight
    And I don’t see a light
    Right now, baby right now
    If we’re so clever tell me how
    Were waiting for the wrecker now
    Let’s forget what used to be
    Anyhow and where are we
    Right now, oh baby right now

    Miles between us here we are
    side by side in a stranded car
    Right now, baby right now
    And it’s too dark to see
    Anyhow so where are we
    Right now, baby, right now
  • 2. Red Staggerwing (live)
    If I was staggerwing plane
    A staggerwing painted red
    I’d fly over to your house, baby
    Buzz you in your bed
    If I was a taperwing
    A taperwing painted blue
    I’d be barrell-rolling over you
    You’re gonna need a rider anyhow
    Let me be your rider now

    If I was a maserati
    A red 300s
    I’d ride around to your house, baby
    Give you a driving test
    If I was a mustang racer
    White with a stripe of blue
    You could ride me, baby
    Whenever you wanted to
    You’re gonna need a rider anyhow
    Let me be your rider now

    If I was a fender guitar
    A fender painted red
    You could play me, darlin’
    Until your fingers bled
    If I was one of them Gibsons
    Like a ’58 or ‘9
    You could plug me in
    And play me anytime
    You’re gonna need a rider anyhow
    Let me be your rider now

    If I was a motorcycle
    A vincent red rapide
    I’d ride around to your house, baby
    Get you up to speed
    If I was short track racer
    I’d be an Indian
    You could ride me around
    And ride me round again
    You’re gonna need a rider anyhow
    Let me be your rider now

    You’re gonna need a rider anyhow
    Let me be your rider now
  • 3. Red Dirt Girl (live)
    Me and my best friend Lillian
    And her blue tick hound dog Gideon,
    Sittin on the front porch cooling in the shade
    Singin every song the radio played
    Waitin for the Alabama sun to go down
    Two red dirt girls in a red dirt town
    Me and Lillian
    Just across the line and a little southeast of Meridian.

    She loved her brother I remember back when
    He was fixin up a ’49 Indian
    He told her ‘Little sister, gonna ride the wind
    Up around the moon and back again”
    He never got farther than Vietnam,
    I was standin there with her when the telegram come
    For Lillian.
    Now he’s lyin somewhere about a million miles from Meridian.

    She said there’s not much hope for a red dirt girl
    Somewhere out there is a great big world
    Thats where I’m bound
    And the stars might fall on Alabama
    But one of these days I’m gonna swing
    My hammer down
    Away from this red dirt town
    I’m gonna make a joyful sound

    She grew up tall and she grew up thin
    Buried that old dog Gideon
    By a crepe myrtle bush in the back of the yard,
    Her daddy turned mean and her mama leaned hard
    Got in trouble with a boy from town
    Figured that she might as well settle down
    So she dug right in
    Across a red dirt line just a little south east from Meridian

    She tried hard to love him but it never did take
    It was just another way for the heart to break
    So she dug right in.
    But one thing they don’t tell you about the blues
    When you got em
    You keep on falling cause there ain’t no bottom
    There ain’t know end.
    At least not for Lillian

    Nobody knows when she started her skid,
    She was only 27 and she had five kids.
    Coulda’ been the whiskey,
    Coulda been the pills,
    Coulda been the dream she was trying to kill.
    But there won’t be a mention in the news of the world
    About the life and the death of a red dirt girl
    Names Lillian
    Who never got any farther across the line than Meridian.

    Now the stars still fall on Alabama
    Tonight she finally laid
    That hammer down
    Without a sound
    In the red dirt ground
  • 4. Done With Bonaparte (live)
    We’ve paid in hell since Moscow burned
    As Cossacks tear us piece by piece
    Our dead are strewn a hundred leagues
    Though death would be a sweet release

    And our Grande Armée is dressed in rags
    A frozen starving beggar band
    Like rats we steal each other’s scraps
    Fall to fighting hand to hand

    Save my soul from evil, Lord
    And heal this soldier’s heart
    I’ll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
    I’m done with Bonaparte

    What dreams he made for us to dream
    Spanish skies, Egyptian sands
    The world was ours, we marched upon
    Our little Corporal’s command

    And I lost an eye at Austerlitz
    The sabre slash yet gives me pain
    My one true love awaits me still
    The flower of the Aquitaine

    Save my soul from evil, Lord
    And heal this soldier’s heart
    I’ll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
    I’m done with Bonaparte

    I pray for her who prays for me
    A safe return to my belle France
    We prayed these wars would end all wars
    In war we know is no romance

    And I pray our child will never see
    A little Corporal again
    Point toward a foreign shore
    Captivate the hearts of men

    Save my soul from evil, Lord
    And heal this soldier’s heart
    I’ll trust in thee to keep me, Lord
    I’m done with Bonaparte

    CREDITS
    Mark Knopfler: guitars
    Donal Lunny: bouzouki
    Liam O’Flynn: Uillean pipes
    Paul Brady: whistle
    Sean Keane: violin
    Máirtin O’Connor: accordion
    Paul Moore: bass
    Robbie Casserley: drums
  • 5. Romeo and Juliet (live)
    A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
    Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
    Finds a streetlight steps out of the shade
    Says something like you and me babe how about it?

    Juliet says hey it’s Romeo you nearly gimme a heart attack
    He’s underneath the window she’s singing hey la my boyfriend’s back
    You shouldn’t come around here singing up at people like that
    Anyway what you gonna do about it?

    Juliet the dice was loaded from the start
    And I bet and you exploded in my heart
    And I forget I forget the movie song
    When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?

    Come up on different streets they both were streets of shame
    Both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same
    And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
    How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?

    When you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
    You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
    You promised me everything you promised me thick and thin yeah
    Now you just say oh Romeo yeah you know I used to have a scene with him

    Juliet when we made love you used to cry
    You said I love you like the stars above I’ll love you till I die
    There’s a place for us you know the movie song
    When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?

    I can’t do the talk like they talk on TV
    And I can’t do a love song like the way it’s meant to be
    I can’t do everything but I’d do anything for you
    I can’t do anything except be in love with you

    And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be
    All I do is keep the beat and bad company
    All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
    Julie I’d do the stars with you any time

    Juliet when we made love you used to cry
    You said I love you like the stars above I’ll love you till I die
    And there’s a place for us you know the movie song
    When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?

    And a lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
    Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
    Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
    Says something like you and me babe how about it?
  • 6. All That Matters (bonus track/live)
    My darling girl
    My darling girl
    You’re all that matters
    In this wicked world
    All that matters
    All that matters

    My darling boy
    My darling boy
    All of my sunshine
    And all of my joy
    You’re all that matters
    All that matters

    Well, I can’t stop the pain
    When it calls I’m a man
    And I can’t stop the rain
    When it falls, my darling
    Who can?

    My darling girl
    My darling girl
    You’re all that matters
    In this wicked world
    All that matters
    All that matters

    My darling friend
    My darling friend
    All we’ve got going
    Is love in the end
    It’s all that matters
    All that matters
  • 7. This Is Us (live)
    This is us down at the Mardi Gras
    This is us in your Daddy’s car
    You and the missing link
    Yeah, I’d had a little too much to drink,now
    Too long in the sun
    Having too much fun
    You and me and our memories
    This is us

    Rocking at the barbecue
    Yeah, when we said I do
    Hand jiving on the ballroom floor
    You in that wedding coat you wore
    And you in that amazing dress
    I was stoned on love I guess
    You and me we were meant to be
    This is us

    This is us on our Honeymoon
    In our hotel room
    Sitting by the wishing well
    Checking out of the love motel
    Making plans for the sunshine state
    Waiting at the terminal gate
    You and me making history
    This is us

    And our baby boy
    With our pride and joy
    You at the Sunday Game
    Standing next to Whatshisname?
    On our Anniversary
    With the family
    You and me and our memories
    This is us
  • 8. All The Roadrunning (live)
    A million miles our vagabond wheels
    Clocked up beneath the clouds
    They’re counting down to show time
    When we do it for real with the crowds
    Air miles are owing but they don’t come for free
    And they don’t give you any for pain
    But if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    The rim shots come down like cannon fire
    And thunder off the wall
    There’s a man in every corner
    And each one is giving his all
    But this is my piper and this is my drum
    So you never will hear me complain
    And if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    All the roadrunning
    All the roadrunning

    Well if you’re inclined to go up on the wall
    It can only be fast and high
    And those who don’t like the danger soon
    Find something different to try
    And when there is only a ring in your ears
    And an echo down memory lane
    Then if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    All the roadrunning
    All the roadrunning

    The show’s packing up, I sit and watch
    The carnival leaving town
    And there’s no pretending that I’m not a fool
    For riding around and around
    Like the pictures you keep of your old wall of death
    You showed me one time on a plane
    But if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    I’ve a million miles of vagabond sky
    Clocked up above the clouds
    I’m still your man for the roaming
    For as long as there’s roaming allowed
    There’ll be a rider and there’ll be a wall
    As long as the dreamer remains
    And if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    All the roadrunning
    All the roadrunning
  • 9. Boulder To Birmingham (live)
    I don’t want to hear a love song
    I got on this airplane just to fly
    And I know there’s life below
    But all that it can show me
    Is the prairie and the sky

    And I don’t want to hear a sad story
    Full of heartbreak and desire
    The last time I felt like this
    It was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire
    And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn
    I watched it burn, I watched it burn.

    I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
    I would hold my life in his saving grace.
    I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
    If I thought I could see, I could see your face.

    Well you really got me this time
    And the hardest part is knowing I’ll survive.
    I have come to listen for the sound
    Of the trucks as they move down
    Out on ninety five
    And pretend that it’s the ocean
    coming down to wash me clean, to wash me clean
    Baby do you know what I mean

    I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
    I would hold my life in his saving grace.
    I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
    If I thought I could see, I could see your face.
  • 10. Speedway At Nazareth (live)
    After two thousand came two thousand and one
    To be the new champions we were there for to run
    From springtime in Arizona ’til the fall in Monterey
    And the raceways were the battlefields and we fought ’em all the way

    Was at Phoenix in the morning I had a wake-up call
    She went around without a warning put me in the wall
    I drove Long Beach, California with three cracked vertebrae
    And we went on to Indianapolis, Indiana in May

    Well the Brickyard’s there to crucify anyone who will not learn
    I climbed the mountain to qualify went flat through the turns
    But I was down in the might-have-beens and an old pal good as died
    And I sat down in Gasoline Alley and I cried

    Well we were in at the kill again on the Milwaukee Mile
    And in June up in Michigan we were robbed at Belle Isle
    Then it was on to Portland, Oregon for the G.I. Joe
    And I’d blown off almost everyone when my motor let go

    New England, Ontario we died in the dirt
    Those walls from mid-Ohio to Toronto they hurt
    So we came to Road America where we burned up at the lake
    But at the speedway at Nazareth I made no mistake
  • 11. So Far Away (live)
    Here I am again in this mean old town
    And you’re so far away from me
    And where are you when the sun goes down
    You’re so far away from me

    So far away from me
    So far I just can’t see
    So far away from me
    You’re so far away from me

    I’m tired of being in love and being all alone
    When you’re so far away from me
    I’m tired of making out on the telephone
    And you’re so far away from me

    So far away from me
    So far I just can’t see
    So far away from me
    You’re so far away from me

    I get so tired when I have to explain
    When you’re so far away from me
    See you’ve been in the sun and I’ve been in the rain
    And you’re so far away from me

    So far away from me
    So far I just can’t see
    So far away from me
    You’re so far away from me
  • 12. Our Shangri-La (live)
    It’s the end of a perfect day
    For surfer boys and girls
    The sun’s dropping down in the bay
    And falling off the world

    There’s a diamond in the sky,
    Our evening star
    In our Shangri-La

    Get that fire burning strong
    Right here and right now
    It’s here and then it’s gone
    There’s no secret, anyhow.

    We may never love again
    To the music of guitars
    In our Shangri-La

    Tonight your beauty burns
    Into my memory
    The wheel of heaven turns
    Above us endlessly

    This is all the heaven we’ve got
    Right here where we are
    In our Shangri-La

    Tonight your beauty burns
    Into my memory
    The wheel of heaven turns
    Above us endlessly

    This is all the heaven we’ve got
    Right here where we are
    In our Shangri-La

    In our Shangri-La
    In our Shangri-La
  • 13. If This Is Goodbye (Live)
    My famous last words
    Are laying around in tatters
    Sounding absurd
    Whatever I try
    But I love you
    And that’s all that really matters
    If this is good bye
    If this is good bye

    Your bright shining sun
    Would light up the way before me
    You were the one
    Made me feel I could fly
    And I love you
    Whatever is waiting for me
    If this is good bye
    If this is good bye

    Who knows how long we’ve got
    Or what were made out of
    Who knows if there’s a plan or not
    There is our love
    I know there is our love

    My famous last words
    Could never tell the story
    Spinning unheard
    In the dark of the sky
    But I love you
    And this is our glory
    If this is good bye
    If this is good bye
  • 14. Why Worry (live)
    Baby I see this world has made you sad
    Some people can be bad
    The things they do, the things they say
    But baby I’ll wipe away those bitter tears
    I’ll chase away those restless fears
    That turn your blue skies into grey

    Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
    There should be sunshine after rain
    These things have always been the same
    So why worry now

    Baby when I get down I turn to you
    And you make sense of what I do
    I know it isn’t hard to say
    But baby just when this world seems mean and cold
    Our love comes shining red and gold
    And all the rest is by the way

    Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
    There should be sunshine after rain
    These things have always been the same
    So why worry now