The Ukulele Alphabet: Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits

Letter R, Week 2
“Romeo and Juliet” by Dire Straits

Fun fact: Did you know Mark Knopfler has a dinosaur named after him? (Personally, I’d love to have a trilobite named after me, and why not? A girl can keep dreaming.)

Other fun fact: Though it’s not on the official soundtrack, this song is featured in one of my top five music movies,¹ Empire Records. And the ballerina practicing in the store while this song plays is none other than the step-daugher of Maxwell Caulfield, AKA Rex Manning himself.

And this dreamy little ditty was surprisingly challenging to get the hang of with its chord rhythms, but it’s still much easier to translate as a ukulele song than the iconic riffs of “Walk of Life” or “Money for Nothing.”

Listen to the original version of “Romeo and Juliet”:

What’s the Ukulele Alphabet?

Read all about my 2025 ukulele performance project (and its rules) here.

I want to A-B-SEEEE some more!

Watch all the performances in the Ukulele Alphabet project.

1. In case you’re wondering, in alphabetical (not autobiographical) order:
   Almost Famous
   Empire Records
   High Fidelity
   Singles
   That Thing You Do! ↩︎