So Far Away (Dire Straits song)

"So Far Away" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, the opening track on their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms (1985). It became the band's fourth top 20 hit, peaking at number 19. The original studio version of the track appeared on the 2005 compilation The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations.

"So Far Away"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album Brothers in Arms
B-side
Released12 April 1985[1]
StudioAIR (Montserrat)
Genre
Length
  • 5:12 (full version)
  • 3:59 (vinyl LP edit)
LabelVertigo
Songwriter(s)Mark Knopfler
Producer(s)
  • Mark Knopfler
  • Neil Dorfsman
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Love over Gold (Live)"
(1984)		 "So Far Away"
(1985)		 "Money for Nothing"
(1985)

Reception

Cash Box said that "with a punchy guitar hook [it] should walk right into the Top 10."[4]

Personnel

Single release

"So Far Away" was the lead single from Brothers in Arms in the UK and Europe on 12 April 1985.[1] The song charted at number 20 in the UK, but also reached the Top 5 in Norway (number 4), Top 10 in Switzerland (number 6) and Sweden (number 7) and Top 40 in Italy (number 33). The single was also released in Australia and peaked at number 22.

After the song climbed to number 29 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1985, "So Far Away" was released a year later as the album's third single in North America, where it peaked at number 3 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Dire Straits a third consecutive Top 20 hit from Brothers in Arms on the Hot 100.

B-side

The 1985 European releases of "So Far Away" featured another track from Brothers in Arms, "Walk of Life". This song would itself be released as the fourth official single from the album in Europe (second in North America) in late 1985 reaching number 7 on the Hot 100 and number 2 in the UK – the band's highest ever charted single in their homeland. The 7" featured an edited version of "So Far Away" that was also used on the LP, but the 12" featured the full length version that was on the CD version. It is sometimes erroneously credited as an extended mix.

In the United States, the song used for the B-side was "If I Had You", from Dire Straits' 1983 EP ExtendedancEPlay. In Canada, a Limited Edition double Vinyl featuring the full length version of "So Far Away" was released, along with live renditions of "Going Home" and "Sultans of Swing", the instrumental section of "Why Worry" and a Mark Knopfler solo effort, "Fear and Hatred".

Live versions

A live version was released as the B-Side of the Knopfler solo single Why Aye Man in 2002.

One of the songs on Mark Knopfler's 2006 album, Real Live Roadrunning, is a duet version of "So Far Away" with American country-folk singer Emmylou Harris.

Charts
Chart (1985–1986) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 22
Canadian RPM Singles Chart 24
Dutch Top 40 23
Finnish Singles Chart (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] 13
Irish Singles Chart 14
Italian Singles Chart 33
New Zealand Singles Chart 25
Norwegian Singles Chart 4
Spanish Singles Chart[7] 6
Swedish Singles Chart 7
Swiss Music Charts 6
South African top 20[8] 5
UK Singles Chart 20
US Billboard Hot 100 19
US Hot Adult Contemporary 3
US Top Rock Tracks 29
US Cash Box Top 100[9] 15

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Strait and narrow" (PDF). Record Mirror. 6 April 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  2. "Top 10 Dire Straits Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. Rose, James (15 September 2015). "30 Years Since: Dire Straits' 'Brothers in Arms' Album". Daily Review. Retrieved 17 January 2020. The opening tracks are pretty conventional pop-rock chart shooters
  4. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 1 March 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.
  7. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  8. "South African Charts 1969–1989: Artists (D)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  9. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending April 26, 1986". Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Cash Box magazine.
  10. "British single certifications – Dire Straits – So Far Away". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
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