A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets of serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
Says something like you and me babe how about it?
Juliet says hey it's Romeo you nearly gimme me a heart attack
He's underneath the window she's singing hey la my boyfriend's back
You shouldn't come around here singing up at people like that
Anyway what you gonna do about it?
Juliet the dice were loaded from the start
And I bet and you exploded in my heart
And I forget I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?
Come up on different streets they booth were streets of shame
Both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same
And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?
When you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything you promised me thick and thin
Now you just say oh Romeo yeah you know I used to have a scene with him
Juliet when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above I'll love you till I die
There's a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?
I can't do the talk like they talk on TV
And I can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be
I can't do everything but I'd do anything for you
I can't do anything except be in love with you
And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be
All I do is keep the beat and bad company
All I do is kiss you through the bars of Orion
Julie I'd do the stars with you any time
Juliet when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above I'll love you till I die
There's a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?
A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets of serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
Says something like you and me babe how about it?
You and me babe how about it
"Romeo and Juliet" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, written by frontman Mark Knopfler. It first appeared on the 1980 album Making Movies and was released as a single in 1981.Reviewer Dan Bolles has called the song a "classic". The song subsequently appeared on the Dire Straits live albums Alchemy and On the Night, and later on Knopfler's live duet album with Emmylou Harris, Real Live Roadrunning (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'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, 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, Empire Records, and Can't Hardly Wait.
The song opens on an arpeggiated resonator guitar 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 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 [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."
Covers
The song has become a classic love song with a wide range of artists covering the track. Indigo Girls covered the track in a solo rendition by Amy Ray on the duo's album Rites of Passage.
The song was also covered by Australian musician Lisa Mitchell for Australian radio station Triple J for the Like a Version segment on their breakfast show in 2009. It was also included on the 2009 Like a Version Volume 5 compilation CD and DVD.
It was covered by The Killers in 2007. It was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios for the Channel 4 show Live from Abbey Road and featured as a B-side on "For Reasons Unknown" and on their compilation album Sawdust.
Matt Nathanson covered the song on his Live at the Point album
Personnel[
Mark Knopfler – National Style O resonator guitar, lead guitar, lead vocals, rhythm guitar
John Illsley – bass guitar
Pick Withers – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
Roy Bittan – piano, hammond organ
ARTISTFACTS FOR DIRE STRAITS
- Took the name Dire Straits because it represented their financial condition in the early days.
- In 2001, British scientists named a dinosaur they discovered after Mark Knopfler. They named the dinosaur, which was discovered in Madagascar, "Masiakasaurus Knopfleri" as a tribute to Knopfler.
- Mark Knopfler was a journalist and teacher before joining the band.
- Mark Knopfler's second wife is named Lourdes. They had twin boys in 1987.
- The band's demo cost only $175 dollars to make. The record company was so impressed that they got Spencer Davis Group bassist Muff Winwood (brother of Steve) to produce their debut album.
- They were Princess Diana's favorite rock group.
- Illsley once donated $750,000 to a charity to raise children's awareness of the dangers of drugs.
- At a concert in New Zealand, the Minister of Transport called off a National Stewards' strike so they could make it to their show.
- Before Dire Straits, David Knopfler was a social worker, and Illsley was studying sociology.
- Mark Knopfler has worked on the soundtracks for Local Hero, Comfort and Joy, and Cal.
- Mark Knopfler is left-handed but he plays right-handed; he says that makes him strong at vibratos. (thanks, Gary - Kumla, Sweden)
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