Romeo and Juliet (song)

"Romeo and Juliet" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, recorded in 1980. It first appeared on the album Making Movies and then on the live albums Alchemy and On the Night. It was released as a single in 1981. The song was written by Dire Straits singer 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 (which is itself based on the Shakespeare play). This song was inspired by Mark Knopfler's broken romance with Holly Vincent, leader of the band Holly and the Italians. Some of the lyrics imply that Knopfler felt that she used him to boost her career.

Cover versions and use in film

In 1992, the Indigo Girls remade the song for the album Rites of Passage, and in 2006, Matt Nathanson included it on his live album At the Point. The song was also covered by The Killers for the Channel 4 programme Live from Abbey Road.^[1] This version was included on the single For Reasons Unknown and later put on the band's B-sides album Sawdust. The Brown (University) Derbies covered the song on the group's 1999 album Jericho. In the 2007 film Hot Fuzz, the riff is used as background music during a scene in which the police talk to a man after a fatal car crash in which a couple was killed. The two victims had previously appeared in a production of Romeo and Juliet. The song was also used in the films Empire Records and Can't Hardly Wait. The song was covered by BBC Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray on the British television series Stars in Their Eyes.

References