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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. 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 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. The song opens on an arpeggiated resonator guitar part played by Knopfler, who also sings the lead vocal. The original recording of the song has been featured in several motion pictures, including Hot Fuzz, Empire Records, Can't Hardly Wait, and I, Tonya. 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 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.