"Love over Gold" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits. It's the fourth track and title track from the eponymous 1982 album.[3] A shorter live version of the song, taken from the album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live, was released as a single.[4]
| "Love over Gold" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Dire Straits | |
| from the album Love over Gold | |
| Released | September 20, 1982 |
| Recorded | 1982 |
| Genre |
|
| Length | 6:15 |
| Label | Vertigo |
| Songwriter(s) | Mark Knopfler |
| Producer(s) | Mark Knopfler |
| "Love over Gold" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Dire Straits | ||||
| from the album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live | ||||
| B-side | "Solid Rock"[1] | |||
| Released | 10 February 1984[2] | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Length | 3:36 | |||
| Dire Straits singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The protagonist of the text is a fragile, inconsistent and standoffish female figure.[5] Musically, the song has an elegant jazz-influenced arrangement, built around the dialogue between Knopfler's guitar and the Mike Mainieri's vibraphone.[5][6] Rolling Stone describes "Love over Gold" as "a whispery ballad that plays the jazzy tingle of vibes against an almost classical piano air and the violinlike pluck of a synthesizer to heighten its images of a casual, even cavalier, sex life."[7]
"Love over Gold" was a moderate hit; it reached its highest position in France (#15),[6] while peaking at #29 in New Zealand, #43 in Netherlands[8] and #50 in the band's native United Kingdom.[9] The live version of the song was included on the 1998 compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits,[10] while the original album version was included on the 2005 compilation Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler.[11]