Some songs that relate to Romeo & Juliet:
Make It Last Forever - Keith Sweat:
Keith Sweat is a master of baby-making songs. He so accurately weaves the feeling of new, intense love throughout his song, the same kind of fresh, hot love that is woven through Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet want their love to last forever; they believe it has to because of how strong it is. Make It Last Forever explains this feeling, “Let me hear you tell me you want me. Let me hear you say you’ll never leave me, baby.” When Romeo was banished, he wanted death instead because the thought of leaving Juliet was too much to bear. Juliet was more upset about Romeo’s banishment than even Tybalt’s death. They both desire a love with no bounds, one that never ends, just like the song describes.
We Belong Together - Mariah Carey:
We Belong Together discusses about a breakup that someone regrets, and how they try to cope but always end up yearning to get back together. Though obviously not a description of the play, as Romeo and Juliet never broke up, the song explains the broken relationship in a way that seems like it is fate for the couple to get back together. In Romeo and Juliet, fate is a big motif sprinkled throughout the play. When Carey belts out “We belong together,” she implies the same divine providence as Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, believing that their love is meant to be and nothing can get in the way of it because they are “star-crossed lovers.”
You and I - Stevie Wonder:
Stevie Wonder’s “You and I” represents the unconditional love between two people, love so intense, that they can conquer the world with it. Of course, when Stevie says “conquer the world,” he doesn’t mean rule the earth with the love, he implies that the love is so strong that it can conquer any hurdle. Not only does this song encapsulate the passionate love Romeo and Juliet share, but it bolsters one of the themes of the play, “love conquers all.” Romeo and Juliet has many instances of the theme, as Romeo and Juliet’s love conquered the hate between the two houses, distance, and fear of the couple being together. It even conquered death, as the love Romeo and Juliet shared left a mark on the families. “You and I” summarizes this theme and the love that creates it.
Broken Clocks - SZA:
One of Romeo and Juliet’s many motifs is rebellion. Though this song, otherwise, has nothing at all to do with the play, it really emphasizes that theme of teen rebellion. Broken Clocks describes SZA’s adolescent experience wanting just to get away and never come back, and be free to do what she wants without anyone holding her down. She says, “I'm never going back, never going back, no you can't make me. Never going back, never going back, they never take me.” In other words, she wants to self-destruct. The spirit of rebellion shifts through the play as well, as Romeo and Juliet defy their parents’ wishes by being together, and are certainly self-destructing in the name of their love.
Lead the Way - Mariah Carey:
Lead the Way is Romeo’s point of view after meeting Juliet. When he sees her, and they exchange words and thoughts on her balcony, he can’t even comprehend loving someone else; he thought that he never truly loved before meeting Juliet. During the second verse, Carey voices that “Losing the faith that love could be mine to treasure,” which displays Romeo’s feelings after being rejected by Rosaline. And, as she continues, “And now nothing's the same. I found myself reborn on the day I met you,” it accurately tracks Romeo’s emotional state from Rosaline to Juliet. Romeo and Juliet certainly let love lead the way, as well, for all of their actions in the play. They both never veered from the path of their love, which ultimately led them to suffering and death.
Here's another blog with some more relevant songs!
https://lifeonearth27.wordpress.com/2018/05/01/romeo-and-juliet-soundtrack/
