The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Caught between the twisted stars the plotted lines the faulty map
that brought Columbus to New York
Betwixt between the East and west he calls on her wearing a leather vest
the earth squeals and shudders to a halt
A diamond crucifix in his ear is used to help ward off the Fear
that he has left his soul in someone's rented car
Inside his pants he hides a mop to clean the mess that he has dropped
into the life of lithesome Juliette Bell
And Romeo wanted Juliette
And Juliette wanted Romeo
Romeo Rodriguez squares his shoulders and curses Jesus
runs a comb through his black pony-tail
He's thinking of his lonely room
the sink that by his bed gives off a stink
Then smells her perfume in his eyes
and her voice was like a bell
Outside the streets were steaming the crack dealers were dreaming
of an Uzi someone had just scored
I betcha I could hit that light with my one good arm behind my back
says little Joey Diaz
Brother give me another tote those downtown hoods are no damn good
those Italians need a lesson to be taught
This cop who died in Harlem you think they'd get the warnin'
I was dancing when his brains ran out on the street
And Romeo had Juliette
And Juliette had her Romeo
I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin written on it that says
"It's hard to give a shit these days"
Manhattan's sinking like a rock, into the filthy Hudson what a shock
they wrote a book about it, they said it was like ancient Rome
The perfume burned his eyes holding tightly to her thighs
and something flickered for a minute and then it vanished and was gone
that brought Columbus to New York
Betwixt between the East and west he calls on her wearing a leather vest
the earth squeals and shudders to a halt
A diamond crucifix in his ear is used to help ward off the Fear
that he has left his soul in someone's rented car
Inside his pants he hides a mop to clean the mess that he has dropped
into the life of lithesome Juliette Bell
And Romeo wanted Juliette
And Juliette wanted Romeo
Romeo Rodriguez squares his shoulders and curses Jesus
runs a comb through his black pony-tail
He's thinking of his lonely room
the sink that by his bed gives off a stink
Then smells her perfume in his eyes
and her voice was like a bell
Outside the streets were steaming the crack dealers were dreaming
of an Uzi someone had just scored
I betcha I could hit that light with my one good arm behind my back
says little Joey Diaz
Brother give me another tote those downtown hoods are no damn good
those Italians need a lesson to be taught
This cop who died in Harlem you think they'd get the warnin'
I was dancing when his brains ran out on the street
And Romeo had Juliette
And Juliette had her Romeo
I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin written on it that says
"It's hard to give a shit these days"
Manhattan's sinking like a rock, into the filthy Hudson what a shock
they wrote a book about it, they said it was like ancient Rome
The perfume burned his eyes holding tightly to her thighs
and something flickered for a minute and then it vanished and was gone
Lyrics submitted by barfolimew
Romeo Had Juliette Lyrics as written by Lou Reed
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
i see the idea of pure, real emotion mixed in all the hopeless filth and violence, but also the fact that it can't survive for long. romeo and juliet. something flickered for a minute - and then it vanished and was gone.
Yes, the ending saves it. But it's still awfully corny. West Side Story was really big when Reed was growing up and he never got over wanting to be like Tony.
I think that this is at least one of Lou Reed's best songs, if not his best. Even though he only says a few lines about a person you get a complete picture of what they're like from it. Amazing
Romeo and Juliet...New York style. A perfect opening for the album New York, Lou Reed's letter to his degrading home city.
I think it's more like: Caught between the twisted stars, the plotted lines, the faulty map that brought Columbus to New York - betwixt between the East and West, he comes to her with leather vest - the earth screams and shudders to a halt: A diamond crucifix in his ear he used to help ward off the fear that he has left his soul in someone's...rented car. Inside his pants he hides a mop to clean the mess that he has dropped into the life of lithesome Juliette Bell. Romeo had Juliette. Juliette had her Romeo. Romeo Rodriguez squares his shoulders and curses "Jesus," runs his hands through his black pony-tail. He's thinking of his lonely room, the sink that by his bed gives off a stink, and he smells the perfume in her hair and her voice was like a bell. Outside the streets are steaming. Crack dealers are dreaming of an Uzi someone had scored. "I betcha I could hit that light with my one good arm behind my back," says little Joey Diaz, "brother give me another tote those downtown hoods are no damn good those I-talians need a lesson to be taught." This cop who died in Harlem, you'd think they'd get the warnin' - I was dancing when his brains run out on the street. And Romeo had Juliette. And Juliette had her Romeo. You can take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin written on it that says, "it's hard to give a shit these days." Manhattan's sinking like a rock into the filthy Hudson what a shock. They wrote a book about it, they said it was like ancient Rome. The perfume burned his eyes holding tightly to her thighs and then something flickered for a minute and then it vanished and was gone.
A more realistic view on teenage romance.
I love this song. A poem to the dirty, wrecked, beautiful town he adores. And the people in it - the hopeless, the hopeful, the innocent, the violent and the greedy. I like the the idea New York is sinking into the Hudson - like ancient Rome it's too big for its own good. - I think that bit is about Gore Vidal and his book Empire (1987) which compares the empire of Rome to the Empire of America - no offence but power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (And remember it's pre 9/11 so it's about a big town not an icon). But even then within the big town there is personal hope and love. That's the message I get from the song. Amidst the toughness there are real people doing and feeling real, honest things. And her voice was like a bell.
Romeo Rodriguez is giving Juliette a DIY abortion, just in case it's not clear.
"Inside his pants he hides a mop to clean the mess that he has dropped into the life of lithesome Juliette Bell."
"The perfume burned his eyes holding tightly to her thighs and then something flickered for a minute and then it vanished and was gone."
This, against the backdrop of the steaming pile of shit New York was in the 80s during the crack epidemic.
And:
"Brother give me another tote those downtown hoods are no damn good those Italians need a lesson to be taught"
And it is "tote," not "toke." - The "tote" is a gun, as in "gun-toting."