# Walk of Life by Dire Straits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287 "2020-03-11T17:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/1 "2020-03-11T17:30:08Z")
A very catchy song completely dis served by the sports footage based music video. I understand that it’s about street musicians, and a lot of the lyrics are referencing songs commonly played by buskers. But WTF is “I got a woman down in the tunnels trying to make it pay”? Is Johnny some kind of coal miners’ pimp? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/2 "2020-03-11T17:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Here comes Johnny singing I gotta woman > Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay Here comes Johnny singing [_I Got A Woman_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnI_LuCJ4Ek) (by Ray Charles and covered by the Beatles) down in the (subway) tunnels, trying to make it pay (trying to get his singing of that song to cause people to give him money) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/3 "2020-03-11T17:39:02Z")
No, underground tunnels. Like for subways and such. Johnny could be singing about a hooker working in the tunnels. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/4 "2020-03-11T17:39:49Z")
Yeah I suppose changing the pauses and punctuation helps. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/5 "2020-03-11T17:40:45Z")
You are conflating two different references. _Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies Be, bop, a, lua, baby, what I say Here comes Johnny singing I gotta woman Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay_ “I gotta woman” is referencing a song Johnny is singing. “Down in the tunnels…” is describing where Johnny is busking, ie the London Underground tunnels. Ninja’d by everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/6 "2020-03-11T17:42:07Z")
“I Got a Woman” is a Ray Charles song. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/7 "2020-03-11T18:19:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A very catchy song completely dis served by the sports footage based music video. The [original (British) video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qTHn_sxrN0) featured a busker in a tunnel. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/8 "2020-03-11T18:25:19Z")
Is there a list of all the songs alluded to in the lyrics? And what is the walk of life anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/9 "2020-03-11T18:30:50Z")
I always took it to mean your life, and the path you choose. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/10 "2020-03-11T20:30:58Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Is there a list of all the songs alluded to in the lyrics? “I Got a Woman” (Ray Charles) “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (Gene Vincent) “What’d I Say” (Ray Charles) “My Sweet Lovin’ Woman” (Robert Nighthawk) “Mack the Knife” (Bobby Darin having the most pop-based cover) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/11 "2020-03-11T20:38:03Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > “I Got a Woman” is a Ray Charles song. See post #2. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/12 "2020-03-11T20:40:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > See post #2. Yeah, I posted while post #2 was being edited. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/13 "2020-03-11T23:57:22Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > The [original (British) video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qTHn_sxrN0) featured a busker in a tunnel. …that video completely flips the internal context my brain associated with that song. The sports version never made any dang sense 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/14 "2020-03-12T00:46:26Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > The sports version never made any dang sense 😃 I think the organ intro gives it a sort of “baseball music” connotation. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/15 "2020-03-12T19:42:15Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …that video completely flips the internal context my brain associated with that song. The sports version never made any dang sense 😃 Well, in a very general sense, you see all the baseball players screwing up and making mistakes, which has nothing to do with a busker but does have to do with what one might call the “Walk of Life” that is life’s constant struggle. Which is why the last chorus has the players making good plays at the end. It’s a stretch, but I always liked seeing Ozzie Smith in there. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/16 "2020-03-12T21:53:32Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Here comes Johnny singing [_I Got A Woman_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnI_LuCJ4Ek) (by Ray Charles and covered by the Beatles) Also some folks may recognize it as the sample hook in Kanye’s “Gold Digger.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/17 "2020-03-14T21:42:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Ninja’d by everybody. [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=surely+not+everybody+was+kung+fu+fighting+t-shirt&hvadid=78683853548905&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd\_sl\_3sg6ctkq5h\_e](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=surely+not+everybody+was+kung+fu+fighting+t-shirt&hvadid=78683853548905&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_3sg6ctkq5h_e) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walk-of-life-by-dire-straits/849287/18 "2020-03-15T00:05:04Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I always took it to mean your life, and the path you choose. Having just watched the original British video, I see there are people of lots of different social groups, ages, and occupations walking past Johnny in the tunnel – people from all walks of life. That’s got to be intentional word play there.