"Heavy Fuel" is a song by British rock band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

from their 1991 album '' On Every Street''. The song was also released as a single and reached 1 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart, making it the band's second song to do so.

Lyrical content

In "Heavy Fuel",

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

ironically extols the virtues of such vices as

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

s, Scotch, lust, money and violence. The phrase "You got to run on heavy fuel" is from the novel ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

'' by

Martin Amis Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 – 19 May 2023) was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter and critic. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and '' London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Mem ...

, on which Knopfler based his lyric.

Music video

The song's music video features American actor-comedian

Randy Quaid Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor and comedian known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy. He was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in '' The ...

who plays as the band's roadie messing around the venues where the band performs and even fantasizes himself as the band's singer Mark Knopfler.

Track listings

#"Heavy Fuel" #"Planet of New Orleans" #"Kingdom Come"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1991 singles 1991 songs Dire Straits songs Music videos directed by Steve Barron Song recordings produced by Mark Knopfler Songs written by Mark Knopfler Vertigo Records singles Warner Records singles {{1990s-rock-song-stub