“Sailing to Philadelphia” by Mark Knopfler (ft. James Taylor)

“Sailing to Philadelphia” is actually a historical song centered on two individuals, Charles Mason (1728-1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779). The pair, who both were from England, served as, amongst other things, surveyors in Colonial America. In fact they were the ones who established the famous Mason-Dixon Line, i.e. the de facto boundary which differentiates the northern side of the eastern seaboard from the southern side. 

And in terms of characterizing these figures, Knopfler was further inspired by a novel about them entitled Mason & Dixon (1997). So this isn’t just a bland recounting of their relationship. Mark rather gives us a colorful retelling complete with what we would presume to be fictitious embellishments.

Lyrics of “Sailing to Philadelphia”

And it starts off with Dixon introducing himself to Mason. One of the lines that jumps out near the beginning is when he presents himself as someone who fancies ladies. That immediately lets the reader know that this isn’t your standard historical song but rather one that is personalized as novels tend to go. 

But that said, another notable line in the first verse is when Jeremiah notes that he surveyed a large swath of northern England. So we’re made aware that he had such experience even before coming stateside.

Then next comes Charles Mason. His primary profession was actually astronomy, a fact he notes by referring to himself as “a stargazer”. In fact as an interesting side note, he and Dixon actually met on an astronomy expedition prior to venturing to North America. 

We are also made aware that Mason pursued such a field against his family’s wishes, as he was born a “baker’s boy” and was expected to follow that endeavor instead. Moreover, it is also revealed that he too is from England. And such is also the premise upon which the chorus, which depicts the two homeys “sailing to Philadelphia”, is based. And as elaborated earlier, they are doing so to “draw… the Mason-Dixon Line”.

Now you may have noticed earlier that we mentioned Colonial America, not the United States of America. That is because the establishment of the Mason-Dixon Line took place in the mid-1760s, a decade before America achieved independence. So this is at the time when officially the country was still under the rule of England. And of course this historical reality had to make its way into this narrative somehow.

It is done so by Jeremiah Dixon being portrayed as the one who favors American independence.  But obviously, Mason doesn’t agree with him. Instead he perceives his co-worker as being, shall we say dangerously “gullible”, i.e. someone wild enough to be born into a family of bakers but instead ends up “in the forests of the Iroquois”, i.e. venturing through uncharted Native American territories.

But from the perspective of Dixon, the activity they are engaged in is more or less symbolic of America’s inevitable right to freedom. Or, let’s say that he views the establishment of the colonies as a new era in history, one which will bear witness to them, as destined, becoming an independent nation. 

And as another footnote, the American Revolution had already commenced before they finished establishing the Line.  Moreover, whereas the Mason-Dixon may not have had a role in the American Revolution, it was a heavily symbolic boundary as far as the Civil War, which came about 100 years later, goes. 

So it can perhaps be interpreted that the “liberty” being referred to also applies to that of the slaves, i.e. all people of the colonies.

In Conclusion

Conclusively, a brief perusal of Jeremiah Dixon’s personal history doesn’t indicate that he was pro-revolution or anything like that. Rather those ideas being introduced to the stories of these two individuals seem to have come from the aforementioned book and even in that case as more of a subplot. 

So yes, Mark Knopfler did decide to acknowledge these 18^th century figures in song. But it just so happens that their signature achievement transpired right around the time of arguably the greatest event in America’s history. And that latter reality was something that neither he nor Mason & Dixon could ignore.

Quick Facts about “Sailing to Philadelphia”

Mark Knopfler, the song’s primary vocalist is its official composer. He’s a British songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He wrote the song in an autobiographical style, telling the story of famous surveyors Charlie Mason and Jeremiah Dixon.

“Sailing to Philadelphia” was released on 26^th September 2000 after being recorded in Ocean Way Studios.

“Sailing to Philadelphia” appears on a Mark Knopfler album of the same name.

The song was released as a single and featured American singer and songwriter James Taylor.

Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon’s Survey of the Mason-Dixon Line

A border conflict arose in 1681 between the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, and the proprietor of Maryland, Cecil Calvert (2nd Baron Baltimore). Cecil was granted authorization to govern Maryland after his father George Calvert.

The grant described Maryland’s borders as almost similar to the south of Pennsylvania’s though. The similarities related to these borders caused disagreements between William Penn and George Calvert.

The conflict prolonged, almost a century later in 1732, between Charles Calvert, the 5th Baron Baltimore, and William Penn’s sons. By the mid-1730s, the violence related to the conflict had escalated leading to the Cresap’s War.

In an attempt to settle the conflict, Surveyors Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason were hired to overview the matter. They surveyed the borders that separated four of the US states, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia.

The survey moved towards the south of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania to the west of the Delaware River). Mason and Dixon mended the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania and extended some boundary lines along the western side of Maryland. Their survey ended on the 9th of October, 1767.

The boundary lines that these two surveyors created aided in the final settlement by both states five years later. The line was named the Mason-Dixon line defined by stones every mile and crown stones in every 5mile distance.

More about Knopfler’s “Sailing to Philadelphia” album

Sailing to Philadelphia is Mark’s second solo studio album. It was released internationally by Vertigo Records and Warner Bros. Records in the US on the 26^th of September 2000. The album was produced by Chuck Ainlay and Knopfler.

The recording sessions were done at Ocean Way Studios and the Tracking Room Studios in Nashville from 1998 to 2000 in two versions, international and the United States version.

The album’s title track was derived from the story of surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon (which we have expounded on above). Both surveyors were hired to demarcate the border between Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland following a conflict in the 1760s.

Mark wrote all of the songs on this album. The album features vocal performances from greats like the following:

• Van Morrison
• James Taylor
• Glenn Tillbrook
• Chris Difford

Sailing to Philadelphia had sold an estimated 3.5 million copies globally by 2002. It peaked at number 1 on the German Albums Charts, Swiss Albums Charts, and Italian Albums Charts.

The album was supported by the following three single releases:

• “What It Is”
• “Sailing to Philadelphia”
• “Silvertown Blues”