Track 9Follow Me Home

9:30 pm. The boats are tied up for the night, the last traces of sunlight disappeared an hour ago, and the quiet town is asleep. Laying in bed, a cool breeze wafts in through your open window and ruffles the curtains. You can smell the salt in the air, hear the soft sound of the waves, and see some stars through the window.

Even though it’s the last track on the album, I don’t think this song is about ending the day. Ive always seen it as the song that plays when the day is over, which is definitely different. Just because it’s the last song of the day doesn’t mean that it has to end it, if you can understand what im getting at.

This song is definitely the most unique on Communique, but for all the right reasons. It opens with only the sound of waves softly washing on a shore. This immediately relaxes you and sets the scene, where at about 30 seconds some mellow bongo drums fade in. and then: believe it or not!!!... THE diy sand shaker comes in, and you cant even tell its not a real instrument. All of this takes it time to build the atmosphere of the song and album, where some soft yet beautiful guitar comes in. Its genuinely one of the most peaceful and relaxing instrumentals ive heard. I know I was glazing the bassline earlier as well but this is the best bass work on the album. It comes in at about 1:06, and it’s a simple 3 note progression that just repeats over and over but its so perfect. The instrumental is so good that Knopfler doesn’t even sing or say anything until 2 minutes in. When he comes in, he simply joins the instrumental with a relaxed, easy cadence. An almost country-sounding guitar accompanies him, with these beautiful long and relaxed notes. There isn’t a riff on this song, because there’s no need for one.

In this song Knopfler writes “I can see by the moonlight”. This perfectly captures the atmosphere of the song, and beautifully closes the album. In the final minute of “follow me home”, the sound of waves return. They clear your mind as the instruments fade, washing the day of Communique to sleep.