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, and Can't Hardly Wait. 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.
Reviewer Dan Bolles has called the song a "classic". It first appeared on the 1980 album Making Movies and was released as a single in 1980. " Romeo and Juliet" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, written by frontman Mark Knopfler.