[windsorknot]

If you listen to the lyrics, the “character” using the slur in the song is the point of ridicule of the song. This is like banning Hucklebrry Finn because it has the N word.

It took the geniuses this long to catch "faggot" in the song, and be offended; it will take them another 30 years to understand the context.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Knopfler altered the lyrics in the live version long ago in the 90s, removing faggot and replacing it with mother trucker, mother, cowboy, monkey, etc.