| "Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byHenry Mancini | ||||
| from the albumA Warm Shade of Ivory | ||||
| B-side | "The Windmills of Your Mind" | |||
| Released | May 1969 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:29 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriter | Nino Rota | |||
| Producer | Joe Reisman | |||
| Henry Mancini singles chronology | ||||
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"Love Theme fromRomeo and Juliet", also known as "A Time for Us", is aninstrumental arranged byHenry Mancini (fromNino Rota's music written forFranco Zeffirelli's film ofRomeo and Juliet, starringLeonard Whiting andOlivia Hussey).[3]
The song was a number-one pop hit in the United States during the year 1969. It topped theBillboard Hot 100 singles chart on June 28, 1969 and remained there for two weeks;[4] it was also his only Top Ten single on that chart.[5]
Rearranged by Mancini, who played the piano part himself,[6] the song started competing with rock and roll songs from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones on an Orlando, Florida radio station and spread from there.[3] It faced stiff opposition from some radio stations for being too soft. Those stations changed their tune when the song became number one, ending the five-week run of "Get Back" by the Beatles as the top song.[5]
This release topped the U.S.easy listening chart for eight weeks, where it was Mancini's sole number one on the chart.[7]
The score was used forLana Del Rey's song "Old Money" on her albumUltraviolence (2013).[8]
The song has at least three different sets of English lyrics.[citation needed]
The first English version is called "What Is a Youth?," featuring lyrics byEugene Walter and sung by Glen Weston. This version was used in the English language release of the film and was released on thesoundtrack album in 1968.[citation needed]
The second English version is called "A Time for Us," featuring lyrics byLarry Kusik andEddie Snyder.[9] This version has been recorded byJohnny Mathis,Shirley Bassey,Andy Williams,Stevie Wonder,Donny Osmond and others.[citation needed]
The third English version is called "Old Money," featuring lyrics by Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, Robert John Ellis Fitzsimmons and Daniel Law Heath and sung by Lana Del Rey on her third studio album,Ultraviolence (2013).[citation needed]
Two different sets of Italian lyrics have been written for the song.[citation needed]
The first Italian version is called "Un Giorno Per Noi" ("A Day for Us"), sung byJosh Groban and is considered a direct translation of the Kusik and Snyder version of "A Time for Us."[10]
The second Italian version is called "Ai Giochi Addio" ("Goodbye to the Games"), featuring lyrics byElsa Morante and has been performed by prominent opera singers, such asLuciano Pavarotti andNatasha Marsh.[11] It is also the version utilised by Zeffirelli in the Italian language release of his film.
In 1971, a Vietnamese language version of the popular melody, entitled "Chuyện tình Romeo Và Juliette," was recorded by Dạ Hương and released on a reel-to-reel compilation put out by the South Vietnamese record label Shotguns.[12]
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[13] Archived 2021-07-22 at theWayback Machine | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Mancini had a side hustle as an easy-listening conductor, and his version of theRomeo And Juliet love theme is grander and less subtle than the one that Rota recorded.
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