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<h1>Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits song)</h1><h2>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h2><h2><br></h2><h2>"<strong>Romeo and Juliet</strong>" is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rock</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-guaita586-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[3]</a> song by the British rock band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_Straits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dire Straits</a>, written by frontman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Knopfler" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark Knopfler</a>. It first appeared on the 1980 album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_Movies" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Making Movies</em></a> and was released as a single in 1981.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[4]</a> The song subsequently appeared on the Dire Straits live albums <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy:_Dire_Straits_Live" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Alchemy</em></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Night" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>On the Night</em></a>, and later on Knopfler's live duet album with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmylou_Harris" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Emmylou Harris</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Live_Roadrunning" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Real Live Roadrunning</em></a> (though Harris does not perform on the track). The track was also featured on the greatest hits albums <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_for_Nothing_(album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Money for Nothing</em></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultans_of_Swing:_The_Very_Best_of_Dire_Straits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits</em></a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_Dire_Straits_%26_Mark_Knopfler:_Private_Investigations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Best of Dire Straits &amp; Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations</em></a>.</h2><h2><br></h2><h2>Composition and lyrical interpretation</h2><p>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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">William Shakespeare</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">play of the same title</a>, the song makes playful allusion to other works involving young love, including the songs "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somewhere_(song)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Somewhere</a>" – from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Story_(musical)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>West Side Story</em></a>, which is itself based on the Shakespeare play – and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Boyfriend%27s_Back_(song)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">My Boyfriend's Back</a>".</p><p>The original recording of the song has been featured in several motion pictures, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Fuzz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hot Fuzz</em></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Records" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Empire Records</em></a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_Hardly_Wait" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Can't Hardly Wait</em></a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Tonya" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>I, Tonya</em></a>.</p><p>The song opens on an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpeggio" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arpeggiated</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonator_guitar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resonator guitar</a> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms_(Dire_Straits_album)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Brothers in Arms</em></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultans_of_Swing:_The_Very_Best_of_Dire_Straits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits</em></a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[5]</a> In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Arts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sky Arts</a> documentary <em>Guitar Stories: Mark Knopfler</em>, "Knopfler picks up the National and demonstrates how he hit on the famous arpeggio lines in "Romeo and Juliet", from the <em>Making Movies</em> album, while experimenting with an open G tuning."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[6]</a> The instrumentation remains simple during the verses and moves to a full-on rock arrangement in the chorus sections.</p><p>The song itself, written by Knopfler, was inspired by his failed romance with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Vincent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Holly Vincent</a>, 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 [her] deals". 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."^[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^{<em>citation needed</em>}</a>^]</p><h2>Reception</h2><p><em>Ultimate Classic Rock</em> 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."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[7]</a> <em>Classic Rock</em> 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" <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrain" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">refrain</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Dire_Straits_song)#cite_note-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">^[8]</a></p>