When Dire Straits was working on their third album, Making Movies, released in 1980, vocalist Mark Knopfler was writing a pensive ballad based on one of William Shakespeare’s most legendary plays.
“Romeo and Juliet” was inspired by Knopfler’s breakup with singer Holly Vincent, who fronted the short-lived new wave band Holly And The Italians, and the Shakespearean song moves around lyrics loosely based on the play and his own experience—When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?
A lovestruck Romeo sang the streets a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, “You and me, babe, how about it?”
Juliet says, “Hey, it’s Romeo. You nearly gave 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 was loaded from the start
And I bet, and you exploded into my heart
And I forget, I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?”
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In the middle, reminiscences of their dreams, the pain of rejection, and promises never kept are spelled out.
Come up on different streets, they both 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, yeah
Now you just say, “Oh, Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him”
The very last line is one Knopfler may have prophesized based on Vincent’s later comment on their breakup. “What happened was that I had a scene with Mark Knopfler,” she recalled, “and it got to the point where he couldn’t handle it, and we split up.”
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler Wrote]
By 1980, Dire Straits had already broken through with their 1978 hit “Sultans of Swing” and their self-titled debut going to No. 2 on the Billboard 200, followed by another top 20 Communiqué in 1979 with Knopfler as the band’s primary songwriter.
“Mark was writing, pretty much from 1976, constantly, so one didn’t know what was going to come next,” said bassist John Illsley in 2024. “So, when something like ‘Romeo and Juliet’ turns up on your doorstep, I mean somebody might say to you, ‘What do you think of ‘Making Movies’ as opposed to the the first Dire Straits album?’”
He continued, “I understand the rawness and everything like that, but when you’re faced with songs of that quality, that’s what made ‘Making Movies’ a really important album for an awful lot of people.”
Once released, “Romeo and Juliet” went to No. 8 in the UK and remains one of the band’s most iconic songs. “I took more time to record ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because it took more time to write and demanded special attention,” said Knopfler. “To crystallize: If you can turn negative energy into positive, turn a dire straits situation, excuse the term, into one that is positive, you’re not going to go under, you’re creating. Like someone who could write a book in prison. The songs are linked in that sense.”
Knopfler added, “It wasn’t conscious, but I see the Sultans, Les Bouys, the roller skate girl, and Romeo all change disadvantage into advantage. Rather than leave it, they make something with it. I’m not advocating adverse circumstances, but if they come, you have to create from it.”
Since its release, “Romeo and Juliet” has also been covered nearly 70 times. Here’s a look behind three of its most memorable renditions.
Indigo Girls (1992)
For their 1992 album Rites of Passage, Indigo Girls invited a collection of artists they always dreamed of working with, including Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Gang of Four bassist Sara Lee, Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie, celloist Martin McCarrick, and more.
The entire album was written by either Emily Sailers or Amy Ray, except for their only cover, a stripped-back acoustic version of “Romeo and Juliet.”
The Killers (2007)
In 2007, the Killers recorded a live version of “Romeo and Juliet” at Abbey Road Studios for the UK show Live From Abbey Road. The band released the track as a B-Side to “For Reasons Unknown” and later featured it on their 2007 compilation, Sawdust.
“We’ve covered ‘Romeo And Juliet’ because it’s a great song,” drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. told Q magazine in 2008. “Brandon [Flowers]was really into it. The original idea was to do the song with Johnny Borrell, but he got really sick and couldn’t do it. I think we pulled it off pretty good.”
Flowers added, “We’re not overly anxious about Dire Straits, though. We’re not ashamed of covering ‘Romeo And Juliet,’ either. It’s one of the finest songs ever. Brilliant melodies.”
John Illsley (2015)
In 2015, Dire Straits bassist John Illsley recorded a live solo album from a show at the Half Moon in London. The set included Dire Straits classics like “Sultans of Swing,” “Brothers in Arms,” and “Money For Nothing,” along with a cover of Pink Floyd‘s 1979 classic “Another Brick in the Wall.” Illsley also slipped in his own rendition of “Romeo and Juliet” toward the end of the set.
Photo: Dire Straits’ John Illsely (l) and Mark Knopfler (Mick Hutson/Redferns)
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