So Far Away

When you dive into the structure of *So Far Away*, you encounter a piece that, while part of an album that took the world by storm, has its own pulse that sets it apart. The song opens with a sense of distance, as if you were listening to someone speaking from another place, and that atmosphere is maintained throughout its more than five minutes of duration. It’s interesting to note that, while it was released as a single, its vinyl edition included a slightly shorter version, of nearly four minutes, whereas the full version—likely the one that sounds most familiar and found on the CD—extends a bit further.

This song saw the light at a key moment for Dire Straits, as it kicks off their fifth studio album, Brothers in Arms, released in 1985. It was officially launched as the first single from that record in Europe on April 12 of that same year. Its impact was notable, reaching number 20 in the United Kingdom and climbing to the top positions in other European countries, such as Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden. In North America, it was released a bit later, in February 1986, and there it also received a warm reception, climbing to the third spot on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, thus solidifying the band’s presence in the top 20 of that chart with tracks from Brothers in Arms. The version used as the B-side in the United States was *If I Had You*, a track from an earlier EP by the band. In Canada, a special double vinyl edition was even released, featuring this extended version of *So Far Away* alongside other live recordings and a solo track by Mark Knopfler. Later, in 2006, Emmylou Harris collaborated with Knopfler on a duet version of this song for her album Real Live Roadrunning.