Well, hold on there, buckaroo. You seem to be having a little trouble here, but that’s okay.You see, this song is written in character.
The character is of a working-class, blue-collar dude, bitching about what he perceives as the soft and easy life of famous musicians.
The clue is that the song is performed by famous musicians, who were aware of the existence of a thing called ‘irony’, in which you say things that you don’t literally mean.
It’s a little bit like when you watch TV, and there are stories, such as cop shows, and people are appearing on them as police people and law people and having conversations—you do know that, on those shows, they aren’t really police people and law people, right?
They’re what’s called actors.
And so it is with ‘Money for Nothing’.
I mean, look at the words:
We got to install microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators, we got to move these color TVs
I shoulda learned to play the guitar
I shoulda learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it stickin’ in the camera man
We could have some
You didn’t think that Mark Knopfler had to install microwave ovens, right?
You do know that Mark Knopfler can actually play the guitar, right?
So he can’t be singing this song as if it’s about him personally?
He’s like, pretending?
See? It’s not really all that difficult to understand.
I know that learning to read and appreciate culture can be a little bit hard.
Still, I was slightly surprised that you had trouble with this song. I mean, my teenage daughter is able to spot irony in popular culture and she goes to a high school in Scotland. (It’s a good school, though.)
Might I suggest that you think about saving up some money and finally getting some third-level education?
There’s absolutely no shame in adult education, believe me. I got my degree as an adult while working a full-time job and raising two kids and studying in my spare time. Best thing I ever did, but gosh, it’s hard work.
Just out of curiosity, what is your experience of third-level education?
