Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Telegraph Road (song)

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was redirect to Love over Gold. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 22:48, 28 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Telegraph Road (song)

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This longstanding article was converted to a redirect a few years back (without any discussion that I can see, although it remained a redirect after a brief edit war), but has been periodically recreated. It really needs a formal decision on whether it is notable enough for an article, or should just redirect to its album. Lithopsian (talk) 14:10, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Albums and songs-related deletion discussions. Lithopsian (talk) 14:10, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Lithopsian, Please to explain reason for why you nominated deletion or redirecting this Wikipedia article? Thanks! Usernogood (talk) 14:19, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I already explained. There have been, and still are, disagreements about whether this song is notable enough to have its own article, or should be a redirect. The best way to settle these disputes is not by a slow edit war. The article existed for a number of years and was deleted-by-redirecting without discussion. Now it is time for the discussion. Once there is consensus, then edits to the contrary are simply vandalism and can be quickly reverted. Lithopsian (talk) 14:25, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Theoretically, it's one of Dire Straits' most notable songs. There are many songs that didn't chart and weren't released as singles but are widely regarded as classics, and this is a pretty blatant example. I really don't understand why it should fail notability. Frankiethefreak (talk) 14:29, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The problem is that there isn't much reliable evidence to prove it's one of the band's most notable songs. There's lots of references to primary sources (markknopfler.net), unreliable sources that fail WP:USERG (Songfacts and Setlist.fm) and passing mentions in full album reviews. I'm very familiar with the song, and anecdotally I agree that it has become a popular Dire Straits track. But my anecdotal evidence counts for nothing, which is why I still believe that reliable independent evidence that it passes WP:NSONG is thin on the ground. I've discussed this in the past on the article's talk page as well. Richard3120 (talk) 14:45, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Well, at worst it could be redirected instead of being outright deleted, I'd say. However, as far as you know, are there more reliable sites? Frankiethefreak (talk) 17:00, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I don't, unfortunately, otherwise I would have attempted to improve the article. Really, the only reliable sources we have here are passing mentions in the context of the entire album review (and considering the album only has five songs, and this track takes up nearly 35% of the entire running time, it's hardly a surprise it gets a mention in any album review), a listicle from Classic Rock magazine, and possibly this article [1], although a Mercedes-Benz magazine telling you what songs are good for driving to is reaching for notability. For the record, I think it is very unlikely that this article will be deleted outright – I think what Lithopsian was trying to do here is get some consensus as to whether this article should stay or be redirected, because it's been bouncing backward and forward between the two states over the past few years. I was one of the people who redirected this article in the past, and at present I still don't see enough reliable sources to justify keeping it. But I will happily accept whatever decision is reached here. Richard3120 (talk) 21:52, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Sandstein 20:21, 14 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 23:18, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Redirect to the album, and merge anything here that isn't already there. While this is certainly a well-known song among some Straits fans, it definitely has not been covered to the point of having enough for a standalone article. Tony Fox (arf!) 16:23, 23 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Redirect to Love over Gold. Fails WP:NSONG per nom. SBKSPP (talk) 00:27, 26 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.