Romeo and Juliet (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Romeo and Juliet" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Dire Straits | ||
| from the album Making Movies | ||
| Released | 1981 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 05:54 | |
| Label | Vertigo | |
| Writer(s) | Mark Knopfler | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Dire Straits singles chronology | ||
| "Lady Writer" (1979) |
"Romeo and Juliet" (1981) |
"Skateaway" (1982) |
"Romeo and Juliet" was a single by the British rock band Dire Straits. It appeared on their album Making Movies and subsequently appeared on the live albums Alchemy and On the Night. The song was written by Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler.
The song opens on an arpeggiated resonator guitar part played by Knopfler, who also sings the lead vocal. The instrumentation remains simple during the verses and moves to a full-on rock arrangement in the chorus sections.
The lyrics of the song comprise a description of a conversation between the two lovers of the title. In addition to the obvious reference to William Shakespeare's play of the same title, the song makes playful allusion to other works involving young love, including the songs "My Boyfriend's Back" and "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
This song was inspired by Mark Knopfler's broken romance with Holly Vincent, who was the leader of the band Holly And The Italians. Some of the lyrics indicate that Knopfler felt she used him to boost her career.
The line "Now you just say, oh Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him," came from an interview where Holly Vincent was quoted as saying: "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."
In 1992, the Indigo Girls remade this song for their album Rites of Passage.
In 2006, Matt Nathanson included this song on his live album At The Point.
| Dire Straits |
| Mark Knopfler | John Illsley | Alan Clark | Guy Fletcher | David Knopfler | Pick Withers | Hal Lindes | Terry Williams | Jack Sonni |
| Discography |
| Albums and extended plays: Dire Straits | Communiqué | Making Movies | Love over Gold | ExtendedancEPlay | Alchemy | Brothers in Arms | On Every Street | On the Night | Live at the BBC | Money for Nothing | Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits | The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations |
| Hit Singles: Sultans of Swing | Lady Writer | Romeo and Juliet | Skateaway | Private Investigations | Twisting by the Pool | So Far Away | Money for Nothing | Brothers in Arms | Walk of Life | Your Latest Trick | Calling Elvis | Heavy Fuel | |
