"Romeo and Juliet" is a rock song by the British rock band Dire Straits, written by frontman

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

. It first appeared on the 1980 album ''

Making Movies ''Making Movies'' is the third studio album by British rock band Dire Straits released on 17 October 1980 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album includes the sing ...

'' and was released as a single in 1981. The song subsequently appeared on the Dire Straits live albums ''

Alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

'' and '' On the Night'', and later on Knopfler's live duet album with Emmylou Harris, ''

Real Live Roadrunning ''Real Live Roadrunning'' is a collaborative live album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler and American singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, released on 14 November 2006 by Mercury Records and Universal Music internationally, a ...

'' (though Harris does not perform on the track). The track was also featured on the greatest hits albums '' Money for Nothing'', '' Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits'', and '' The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations''.

Composition and lyrical interpretation

The lyrics of the song describe the experience of the two lovers of the title, hinting at a situation that saw the "Juliet" figure abandon her "Romeo" after finding fame and moving on from the rough neighborhood where they first encountered each other. In addition to the reference to

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play of the same title, the song makes playful allusion to other works involving young love, including the songs " Somewhere" – from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'', which is itself based on the Shakespeare play – and " My Boyfriend's Back". The original recording of the song has been featured in several motion pictures, including ''

Hot Fuzz ''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Starring Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, and Jim Broadbent, the film centres on two police officers investigating a series of mysteriou ...

'', '' Empire Records'', ''

Can't Hardly Wait ''Can't Hardly Wait'' is a 1998 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars an ensemble cast including Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jenni ...

'', and ''

I, Tonya ''I, Tonya'' is a 2017 American biographical film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of the American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection with the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy ...

''. The song opens on an

arpeggiated A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...

part played by Knopfler, who also sings the lead vocal. The introductory arpeggios and melody are played on a National Style "O" guitar, the same guitar featured on the album artwork for '' Brothers in Arms'' and '' Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits''. In the

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

documentary ''Guitar Stories: Mark Knopfler'', "Knopfler picks up the National and demonstrates how he hit on the famous arpeggio lines in "Romeo and Juliet", from the ''Making Movies'' album, while experimenting with an open G tuning." The instrumentation remains simple during the verses and moves to a full-on rock arrangement in the chorus sections. The song itself, written by Knopfler, was inspired by his failed romance with Holly Vincent, lead singer of the short-lived band Holly and the Italians. The song speaks of a Romeo who is still very much in love with his Juliet, but she now treats him like "just another one of erdeals". Knopfler has both stated and implied that he believes Vincent was using him to boost her career. The song's line, "Now you just say, oh Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him," refers to an interview with Vincent, where she says "What happened was that I had a scene with Mark Knopfler and it got to the point where he couldn't handle it and we split up."

Reception

''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci rated "Romeo and Juliet" as Dire Straits' 3rd best song, saying that it "bridges Shakespeare, West Side Story and a modern rock 'n' roll love story where fame, not family, is keeping the young lovers apart." ''Classic Rock'' critic Paul Rees rated it to be Dire Straits' 4th greatest song, saying that most of it is "spine-tingling" and praising the "heart-tugging" refrain.

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

– National Style O resonator guitar, lead guitar, lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

John Illsley John Edward Illsley (born 24 June 1949) is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist of the rock band Dire Straits. With it, he has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award. As one of the founding band members, ...

– bass guitar *

Pick Withers David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English rock and jazz drummer. He was the original drummer of rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as " Sultans of Swing", " Romeo and Jul ...

– drums, percussion Additional personnel *

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...

– piano, Hammond organ

Covers

* Indigo Girls: a solo rendition by

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daem ...

on the duo's album ''

Rites of Passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

''. *

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

in 2007: it was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

show '' Live from Abbey Road'', featured as a B-side on " For Reasons Unknown" and reappeared on their compilation album ''

Sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machine ...

''. "It's a great song," said drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. " Brandon ''(Flowers)'' was really into it. The original idea was to do the song with

Johnny Borrell Jonathan Edward Borrell (born 4 April 1980) is an English guitarist and singer, currently the frontman of the rock band Razorlight. Early life and career Borrell was born in Sutton, London. His father, New Zealand-born John Borrell, was a war ...

but he got really sick and couldn't do it. I think we pulled it off pretty good." Added Flowers: "It's one of the finest songs ever. Brilliant melodies." *British folk singer-songwriter Steve Knightley: on his 2007 album ''

Cruel River ''Cruel River'' is the second solo studio album by English folk singer-songwriter Steve Knightley. Knightley had spent 2006 with Show of Hands, his duo with Phil Beer, recording, releasing and promoting their twelfth album together, ''Witness'', ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1980 songs 1981 singles Dire Straits songs Rock ballads Songs written by Mark Knopfler Works based on Romeo and Juliet Song recordings produced by Mark Knopfler Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Vertigo Records singles