He sees it in terms of, well, that’s not working and yet the guy’s rich: that’s a good scam. Knopfler told Bill Flanagan in 1984: The lead. I mean, this guy has a grudging respect for rock stars. Knopfler immediately grabbed a pen and paper to write some of the things he said and used them for the song.
The singer in “Money for Nothing” is a real ignoramus, hard hat mentality – somebody who sees everything in financial terms. In fact, I’m still in two minds as to whether it’s a good idea to write songs that aren’t in the first person, to take on other characters. Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can’t let it have so many meanings – you have to be direct. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine in 1985, Knopfler addressed the issue and said: “I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London – he actually said it was below the belt. The lyrics were deemed homophobic and so when they performed it live, Dire Straits would replace some of the words with something less vulgar. While “Money for Nothing” was commercially successful, it wasn’t without its share of controversy. Sting ended up contributing the line “I want my MTV.” He was immediately impressed and so Knopfler challenged him to add something. While they were recording in the studio, Sting came to visit and listened to the demo. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real…” I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. Knopfler told Bill Flanagan in 1984: “The lead character in “Money for Nothing” is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. Knopfler immediately grabbed a pen and paper to write some of the things he said and used them for the song. As he stood there and watched, another man dressed in work clothes stood beside him and started commenting on what they saw. They had a bunch of TVs displayed on a wall and tuned in to one channel – MTV. Knopfler got the idea while he was at an appliance store in New York City. The lyrics were from the POV of two working-class men who watched videos and gave their commentaries.