I posed this question on a HHGTTG thread on the temporary board but we switched back to SDMB before anyone got around to replying. So I will try again…
As I recall, in one of the later books of “The Trilogy” (perhaps it was So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, Arthur Dent refers to a song by Mark Knopfler that was the most beautiful or best ever written. It is the song he listening to when he forgets that he is falling and ends up floating through the air.
I must know what song Douglas Adams was referring to. Unfortunately Adams went to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe[sup]TM[/sup] before I could ask him myself.
Could one of you towel jockeys consult your Hitch Hiker’s Guide and clue me in on the song? I would be most grateful.
According to this FAQ, it’s “Tunnel of Love,” in *So Long . . . *. Funny, I’d remembered it as an entire album Arthur plays to Fenchurch, or possibly an album side.
I don’t remember any specific song being mentioned either. I just remember a description of his guitar playing sounding like angels kicking back and partying for the weekend. Or something like that.
Just to clarify: Tunnel of Love is not a Knopfler solo song, but a Dire Straits one. It appeared on the 1980 Making Movies album. Of course, Knopfler did write it.
FWIW, here’s a link to the lyrics of Tunnel of Love, and here’s another to the “Spanish city” mentioned in the song. Whitley Bay’s certainly not the most romantic place I’ve ever been to.
Wow, you people are awesome. Thanks for the links. I have the Making Movies album and CD which I love to blast in my car. Tunnel of Love is just one of numerous favorites from that album. Nice to know that Douglas Adams liked it too.
The original H2G2 BBC series comes out on DVD next Tuesday, and rumor has it his “unfinished” final novel is being published to mark the one-year anniversary of his all-too-soon passing.
According to www.douglasadams.com the book is: [A] compilation of writings recovered from the hard drive of Adams’s beloved MacIntosh computer. Included are short stories, essays, lectures, and articles, many published for the first time in book form, and the crown jewel: ten never-before- published chapters of Adams’s longtime work-in- progress, THE SALMON OF DOUBT.
Apparently the British and US editions will have introductions by different authors.
The page on Random House’s site http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/...isbn=1400045088 has a little more info.
