"Walk Of Life" Is A Song By The British Rock Band Dire Straits The Third Track On Their Fifth Studio Album Brothers In Arms 1985 . It Subsequently Appeared On Their Live Album On The Night 1993 . It Was Released As A Single October 1985 But Had First Been Available As The B-Side Of "So Far Away" Released In Advance Of Brothers In Arms. The Track Peaked At Number Seven In The US Charts Becoming Their Third And Last Top Ten Hit. It Was Their Biggest Commercial Hit In The UK Along With "Private Investigations" Peaking At Number Two. The Track Also Appeared On Three Compilation Albums 1988's Money For Nothing 1998's Sultans Of Swing The Very Best Of Dire Straits And 2005's The Best Of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler Private Investigations. Mark Knopfler Had Not Originally Intended "Walk Of Life" For The Album But Rather As A B-Side To One Of The Singles. Dire Straits Manager Ed Bicknell Heard It When It Was Being Mixed And Convinced Knopfler To Include It On The Album At The Last Minute. A Simple Rock And Roll Rhythm Is Used With Chord Changes Limited To I IV And V Chords. The Long Introduction Has Become Iconic In Some Circles With An Instantly Recognizable Riff Played On A Synthesizer-Driven Keyboard With Hints Of The Blues. The Singer Mentioned In The Lyrics "Johnny" Is Said To Perform "down In The Tunnels Trying To Make It Pay" A Reference To Busking In The Subway. The Songs He Plays Are Oldies Including "I Got A Woman" "Be-Bop-A-Lula" "What'd I Say" "My Sweet Lovin' Woman" And "Mack The Knife". He Also Plays Talking Blues.