You get a shiver in the dark It's raining in the park, but meantime South of the river you stop and you hold everything A band is blowin' dixie double four time You feel alright when you hear that music ring And now you step inside But you don't see too many faces Comin' in out of the rain You hear the jazz go down Competition in other places Oh, but the horns, they blowin' that sound Way on down south Way on down south London town You check out guitar, George He knows all the chords Mind he's strictly rhythm He doesn't wanna make it cry or sing Yes, and an old guitar Is all he can afford When he gets up under the lights To play his thing And Harry doesn't mind If he doesn't make the scene He's got a daytime job He's doin' alright He can play the honky-tonk like anything Savin' it up for Friday night With the Sultans With the Sultans of Swing And a crowd of young boys They're fooling around in the corner Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies And their platform soles They don't give a damn About any trumpet playing band It ain't what they call rock and roll And the Sultans, yeah, the Sultans They play creole, creole And then the man He steps right up to the microphone And says: At last! Just as the time bell rings Goodnight, now it's time to go home And he makes it fast with one more thing We are the Sultans We are the Sultans of Swing
You get a shiver in the dark It's raining in the park, but meantime South of the river you stop and you hold everything A band is blowin' dixie double four time You feel alright when you hear that music ring And now you step inside But you don't see too many faces Comin' in out of the rain You hear the jazz go down Competition in other places Oh, but the horns, they blowin' that sound Way on down south Way on down south London town You check out guitar, George He knows all the chords Mind he's strictly rhythm He doesn't wanna make it cry or sing Yes, and an old guitar Is all he can afford When he gets up under the lights To play his thing And Harry doesn't mind If he doesn't make the scene He's got a daytime job He's doin' alright He can play the honky-tonk like anything Savin' it up for Friday night With the Sultans With the Sultans of Swing And a crowd of young boys They're fooling around in the corner Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies And their platform soles They don't give a damn About any trumpet playing band It ain't what they call rock and roll And the Sultans, yeah, the Sultans They play creole, creole And then the man He steps right up to the microphone And says: At last! Just as the time bell rings Goodnight, now it's time to go home And he makes it fast with one more thing We are the Sultans We are the Sultans of Swing
A primeira gravação de “Sultans of Swing” foi um demo feito no Pathway Studios, ao norte de Londres, e ganhou notoriedade ao entrar na rotação da Radio London.
O single foi relançado depois que a banda assinou com a Phonogram; a versão demo permaneceu apenas no lançamento original do single britânico da Vertigo.
Embora o álbum de estreia de Dire Straits tenha sido lançado em outubro de 1978, “Sultas of Swing” só entrou nas paradas americanas em 1979, alcançando o nº 4 na Billboard Hot 100 e impulsionando as vendas do disco.
A letra conta a história de um grupo de jazz operário que toca em um pequeno clube de Londres; o personagem “Guitar George” pode ser uma referência ao músico George Borowski.
Bill Wilson, músico da Columbia, afirma ter escrito grande parte das letras enquanto trabalhava em uma sessão em Nashville com Mark Knopfler, embora não tenha recebido créditos oficiais.
A versão ao vivo de 11 minutos apresentada no Nelson Mandela 70 Anos Birthday Tribute, em 1988, contou com a participação especial de Eric Clapton, tornando‑se a gravação ao vivo mais icônica da canção.
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