Money For Nothing

"Money For Nothing"
Recorded by Dire Straits with Sting
Released:	June 1985
Recorded:	RECORDED TIME PERIOD
Length:	8:26 (full-length) 7:04 (vinyl LP edit) 4:38 (official single edit) 4:05 (promo single edit)
Album(s):	Brothers In Arms
Label(s):	Vertigo (UK) / Warner Brothers (US)
Writer(s):	Mark Knopfler, Sting
Producer(s):	Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman
Studio(s):	AIR Studios
Released as single:	YES

"Money For Nothing" is a song written by Mark Knopfler with Sting and recorded by Dire Straits and Sting in the first week of January 1985.

About the song

"Money For Nothing" is a song recorded by Dire Straits for their album, Brothers In Arms. The song features a cameo by Sting, who repeats then-commercial catchphrase, "I want my...I want my...I want my MTV" in the opening and choruses. The melody of Sting's vocals is the same as in the chorus of The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me."

Sting wasn't interested in writing credits for catchphrase, but Virgin Music disagreed.

Mark asked me to go in the studio and sing this line, "I want my MTV." He gave me the melody, and I thought, "Oh, great, 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', that's a nice quote, it's fun." So I did it, and thought nothing of it, until my publishers, Virgin -who I've been at war with for years and who I have no respect for - decided that was a song they owned, 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'. They said that they wanted a percentage of the song, much to my embarrassment. So they took it.<ref>Musician Magazine, December 2010</ref>

Both the song and its accompanying video were commercially successful and received a great deal of airplay. The video was notable for its use of computer animation interspersed with concert footage. The song, sung from the point of view of an appliance store worker, was also notable for its controversial use of language, in particular the use of the word "faggot," and its depictions of and commentary on both musicians and blue collar workers.

Personnel

This section needs more information.

Release History

Albums

"Money For Nothing" appears on the following album releases (please see links for further details on each title):

Cover art	Album title	Catalog no.	Release country	Format	Release date
	Brothers In Arms	Catalog no.	Release country	CD	1985-MM-DD
	Highlights From The Royal Concert (live version)	Catalog no.	Release country	CD	1989-MM-DD

Singles

7" Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song/B-side song	Release date	Release country
	Catalog no.	"Money For Nothing"/""Love Over Gold" (live)"	1985-06-28	UK

12" Singles

Cover art	Catalog no.	A-side song(s)/B-side song(s)	Release date	Release country
	Catalog no.	"Money For Nothing"/"Love Over Gold (live)"	1985-MM-DD	Germany

Video

"Money For Nothing" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art	Video title	Release date	Release country
	Video or dvd title	YYYY-MM-DD	Country

Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year	Winner	Award	Category
1985	Dire Straits	Grammy	Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal
1986	Dire Straits	MTV Video Music Awards	Video of the Year

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year	Nominee	Award	Category
YYYY	NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.)	AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.)	CATEGORY

Certifications

This section needs more information.

Country	Certifier	Classification	Certification
COUNTRY	CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...)	CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...)	CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...)

Lyrics

Now look at them yo-yo's that's the way you do it 
You play the guitar on the MTV 
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it 
Money for nothin' and chicks for free 

Now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it 
Lemme tell ya them guys ain't dumb 
Maybe get a blister on your little finger 
Maybe get a blister on your thumb 

We gotta install microwave ovens 
Custom kitchen deliveries 
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV's 

See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup 
Yeah buddy that's his own hair 
That little faggot got his own jet airplane 
That little faggot he's a millionaire 

We gotta install microwave ovens 
Custom kitchens deliveries 
We gotta move these refrigerators 
We gotta move these colour TV's 

I shoulda learned to play the guitar 
I shoulda learned to play them drums 
Look at that mama, she got it stickin' in the camera 
Man we could have some fun 

And he's up there, what's that? Hawaiian noises? 
Bangin' on the bongoes like a chimpanzee 
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it 
Get your money for nothin' get your chicks for free 

We gotta install microwave ovens 
Custom kitchen deliveries 
We gotta move these refrigerators 
We gotta move these colour TV's 

Lord, now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it 
You play the guitar on the MTV 
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it 
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free 

Money for nothin' and chicks for free

Quotations and trivia

• "Money for Nothing" was the first video ever played on MTV in the U.K.[1]

Alternative and cover versions

This section needs more information.

See also

• 1985-07-04
• 1985-07-13
• 1985-11-28
• 1986-06-20
• 1988-11-04
• Highlights From The Royal Concert
• Prince's Trust Rock Gala Volume 1

External links

This section needs more information.

References

<references />

• Brothers In Arms on the Official Community of Mark Knopfler
• Money For Nothing on Wikipedia
• Money For Nothing #1 on Billboard Hot 100, 1985-09-21
• Grammy Awards 1985
• MTV Video Music Awards 1986
• Sounds - June 22, 1985 (UK 7" release date)