Meaning of Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits

Posted by Lorie Orum on Friday, May 17, 2024

“Brothers in Arms” happens to be one of the most famous songs by the British rock band Dire Straits. The lyrics of “Brothers in Arms” were purely inspired by the Falklands War of 1982.

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Falklands War

The Falklands War was a major war between the United Kingdom and Argentina. This war saw both nations fighting over  ownership of the Falkland Islands as well as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The war lasted from 2nd April to 14th June, 1982 and claimed the lives of 258 British soldiers.

The events of the war were what inspired the lyrics of this tune, which sees the narrator/singer (Mark Knopfler) singing from the point of view of a severely injured soldier who is about to die on the battlefield. His comrades stay by his side as he prepares to depart the earth. In bidding his fellow soldiers farewell, he tells them not to worry, for “every man has to die”. In his final words, he tells them how foolish “we” are “to make war on our brothers in arms”. By this, he means they should never have fought the opposing soldiers, who he considers their “brothers”. In his eyes, the war was pointless.

The term brother-in-arms

But what is the meaning of the term brother-in-arm? We hear you ask. It is a term often used by soldiers to refer to their fellow soldiers.

All in all, this is an anti-war song that centers around the pointlessness and silliness of war while shedding light on the plights of soldiers on the battlefield.

Speaking to the BBC, Mark Knopfler (lead singer of Dire Straits), said although we humans have only “one world”, we have decided to “live in different ones”. According to him, it is very “foolish” for us to participate in “anybody’s war”.

Lyrics of "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits

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Yes. At the 29th Annual Grammy Awards in 1987, the music video of the tune won a Grammy in the category of the Best Music Video.

A lot! For example, it appeared in the 2001 American spy film Spy Game starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. It also appears in the episode “Out Where the Buses Don’t Run” from the second season of the popular American TV series Miami Vice.

Since this tune came out in 1985, it has been covered by various musical acts ranging from the American heavy metal band Metallica to American singer Joan Baez to the German band Gregorian.

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