 James Bond Theme Songs |
An essential element of any James Bond film is the theme song. And not just because it’s set to a title sequence full of barely shadowed nude women gyrating around huge guns and bursts of flame and lasers.
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Only Bond. James Bond.
Here’s a look at each Bond theme. I don’t care to rank them, because my favorites should be obvious and everybody is different, so it’s not to me to say one is vastly superior to others. Besides, some of these you hear played in department stores and supermarkets, and some you don’t. There’s valuation for you!
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Composed by Monty Norman, orchestrated by John Barry. Iconic little piece of music that is instantly recognizable in practically every country on earth. Try it! It works! This is just fabulous. Do I really need to say too much about this classic composition? John Barry’s successful little ditty was the reason Barry was brought back to score a whole lot of future Bond films. And we are the better for it.
From Russia with Love
Written by Lionel Bart, performed by Matt Monro. I see a definite connection between this song and the gyspy elements of the film. It’s fun, and very indicative of the ‘60s era from which it comes. Ties in quite nicely with the defection angle of the movie via the lyrics, so it’s a blast. This is a great one. Great lyric: “Still my tongue-tied, young pride / Would not let my love for you show / In case you’d say no.”
Goldfinger
Composed and conducted by John Barry, performed by Shirley Bassey. A big, booming song for a big, booming movie. Bassey’s vocals are exceptional, and it sets up perfectly the larger-than-life persona of the infamous Goldfinger. Considered by many to be the definitive Bond film, this is a theme song that lives up to the hype and contributes greatly to the movie’s impact. Also very ‘60s in nature, but still in that timelessly cool way. Great lyric: “Pretty girl, beware of this heart of gold / This heart is cold / He loves only gold / Only gold.”
Thunderball
Notice the initial themes were pretty much tailored and titled with the name of the film. I guess that kept things simple. Written by Don Black with assistance from John Barry, and performed by Tom Jones. This was actually the second choice for the theme; initially the film was to be called Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Dionne Warwick does that song justice. Still, Jones’ Thunderball is the better theme song, in the end. More ‘60s soaked classic coolness lyrics and tone, and an infamous final belted out lyric by Jones that stops abruptly as he faints, so the story goes. The lyrics are fairly nonsensical, but it’s Bond and it seems like they should make sense in a poetic way, so it gets a free pass. Great lyric: “His days of asking are all gone / His fight goes on and on and on / But he thinks that the fight is worth it all / So he strikes like Thunderball.”
You Only Live Twice
Written by Leslie Bricusse, performed by Nancy Sinatra. Wonderful, sweeping song that functions quite well as just a love song, suitable for wooing. At the same time, it slyly plays with the pre-titles sequence of the film and gives the audience a hint that Bond will live again, as the case may be. Sinatra’s voice is superb, and the orchestration is very light and gentle. Wonderful. Great lyric: “And love is a stranger who’ll beckon you on, / Don’t think of the danger or the stranger is gone / This dream is for you, so pay the price / Make one dream come true, you only live twice.”
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Composed and conducted by John Barry. With Sean Connery gone from the role and an overall dedication towards the “same old, same old” but in a fresh new way, the theme went back to basics as well, and lost the lyrics. And it’s for the best, since the title sequence features a clip-filled look at the past films, and the fast-paced score of OHMSS is a heart-racing and ominous piece getting you ready for action (it’s all about the chases down a snowy mountain, baby!). This film also featured We Have all the Time in the World, sung by Louis Armstrong. That song is also great, and can either be uplifting (the lyrics are awesome!) or heartbreaking, if you’re familiar with the end of OHMSS.
Diamonds Are Forever
Here’s the first theme I usually skip over when I’m listening to my 30th Anniversary CD. John Barry and Don Black wrote the song, Shirley Bassey returned to sing it. And it’s okay. It’s kind of ‘70s schlock and it’s not as intelligent or “lounge act cool” as prior themes, but for the movie it’s attached to (easily one of the weakest of the series) it’s just okay. Great lyric: “I don’t need love / For what good will love do me / Diamonds never lie to me, / For when love’s gone / They’ll luster on.”
Live and Let Die
What needs to be said here? Written and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings, and Oscar-nominated. The first Bond theme performed by a rock group. Just totally awesome. A great start for the Roger Moore era, and a rock song that survives any number of cover versions to stand alone as a highlight of McCartney’s solo career. Perfectly attuned to the flavor of the film, too, as per the title sequence. Excellent. Great lyric: “You used to say live and let live / (You know you did, you know you did, you know you did) / But if this ever-changing world in which we live in / Makes you give in and cry / Say live and let die!”
The Man with the Golden Gun
Written by Don Black, performed by Lulu. This is a weird one. The film is usually disparaged, with some validity, but there’s a lot more good to it than bad. The theme song is a flashy pop affair, with seemingly nonsensical lyrics that are actually just not as deep as you might expect, with past Bond themes setting the bar rather high in that respect. I actually prefer the alternate version that plays over the end credits, with a clever look at what’s happening on-screen in the new lyrics. Shallow but fun. Great lyric: “Love is required whenever he’s hired / it comes just before the kill.”
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Now this is an undisputed great one. Written by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, sung memorably by Carly Simon. Hamlisch, also memorably, said “It was time that Bond be pretentious enough and vain enough to have a song written about him.” This was a great movie to go for it, since Roger Moore was at his egocentric best in one of his best Bond films. Believe me, even if you think you haven’t heard this theme, you actually have. Beautiful song, and Simon’s voice just really sells it. Great. Every kid who wants to be James Bond also hopes that some day a girl will sing this movie about him. I sure did/do! Great lyric: “Nobody does it better / makes me sad for the rest / nobody does it half as good as you / baby, you’re the best.”
Moonraker
Written by John Barry and Hal David, performed by Shirley Bassey. Now, I love this one. The lyrics make practially no sense, and the name of the song just sounds dirty, somehow. But it’s great. The slower official theme is good, but I especially love the sped-up version that plays over the end credits. Still. Bassey’s voice is still exceptional, and the song fits in with the crazy excesses of the film itself. A guilty pleasure in a lot of ways. Great lyric: “Where are you, why do you hide / where is that moonlike trail that leads to your side?”
For Your Eyes Only
Written by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson, performed by the beautiful Sheena Easton. The first and only theme song where the performer (Easton) actually appears in the titles sequence, singing the song. It works, because Easton is hot. The song is hot, too. Low-key and slightly subdued, it’s a stirring song that fits the stripped-down seriousness of the film. Another one of my favorites. Great lyric: “Maybe I’m an open book, because I know you’re mine / but you won’t need to read between the lines.”
All Time High from Octopussy
Written by Tim Rice, performed by Rita Coolidge. Very nice. Good horn opening, and a perfect song to start a vacation to. Just a fun love song, and a good pop culture inclusion onto a mix CD that says “hey, I’m a James Bond fan but I’m also a sensitive person appreciative of how important our relationship is.” I really like how this song matches up to the titles sequence. “We’ll take on the world and win” is a nice way to convince girls to date you, by the way. Great lyric: “Funny how it always goes with love, when you don’t look, you find / but then we’re two of a kind, we move as one.”
A View to a Kill
Well, come on. This one’s an absolute classic! Written and performed by Duran Duran, and it’s completely awesome. Awesome! A lot of the Bond themes are songs you’d make out to, or listen to while you lounge in a canoe with an exotic significant other on a foreign river with a bottle of expensive wine. Duran Duran’s fast-paced-and-furious theme is a song you’d jump off of building onto low-flying aircraft to, and something to hum if you ever meet Christopher Walken. Even non-fans love this one. Great lyric: “The choice for you is the view to a kill / Between the shades, it’s assassination standing still.”
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Hugely underrated. Undoubtedly overshadowed by “A View to a Kill,” “The Living Daylights” is another great action-themed theme. Crazy lyrics written by John Barry, performed by A-ha. A pleasant pop-ish song that retains a dramatic, foreign flavor and somehow sounds like a song that was going to be part of a spy drama no matter what. That is got attached to a Bond film is icing on the cake. Very, very good. Worth a listen, especially if you dug “Take on Me.” Great lyric: “Set your hopes up way too high / living’s in the way we die.”
License to Kill
Now this one gets swatted down a lot, and for some good reason. Just as the film is kind of a weird, jarring anomaly within the series, the theme is different (mostly in a bad way) from the rest of the bunch. Written by Michael Kamen and performed by Gladys Knight. It just feels wrong, for some reason I can’t easily put my finger on. I still like the song. Great lyric: “Please don’t bet that you’ll ever escape me / when I set my sights on you / Got a license to kill / And you know I’m going straight for your heart.”
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I disliked this theme initially, but it’s since grown on me to rocket up into the top five. It sets up the complexities of the plot, plays very well with the brand new capabilities displayed in the titles sequence, and it’s almost like a stalking song. It’s pretty cool, and has a fun kind of roguish energy that gives us a hint of what’s to come between 006 and our 007. Simultaneously classic ‘60s fare and modern in a cool, slick sense. Fantastic. Written by Bono and The Edge, so you know it’s good, and performed with gusto by Tina Turner. Great lyric: “If I had him I wouldn’t let him out / Goldeneye, not lace or leather / Golden chains drape him to the spot / Goldeneye, I’ll show him forever / It’ll take forever to see what I’ve got.”
Tomorrow Never Dies
Okay, this one grated on me the first time I saw the film, because I wasn’t a fan of Sheryl Crow and this just didn’t sound at all like a Bond theme. Yikes! It’s grown on me as well, but I still keep a little distance from this one. The new stuff they were trying just doesn’t fly like it should, and the chorus isn’t the “hotness” they were obviously going for. Too much screeching, not enough “too cool for school” vibes. Nice try, though. I agree with some other guy I read once, who said the song is good, but Crow may not have been the best to sing it. Oh well. Great lyric: “Darling you won / It’s no fun / Martinis, girls, and guns / It’s murder on our love affair.”
The World is Not Enough
The only other theme song I’d say is vastly underrated, but then again, so is the film itself. I’m a huge Garbage fan (they changed my life!) so I’d cut them a lot of slack, but thankfully I don’t have to here because I think they accomplished the sweeping rock/vocal epic they were shooting for. Shirley Manson can pretty much do no wrong, as well, and her voice is a perfect match for the song and for the tone of TWINE. The darkly humorous music video is the cherry on top. Fabulous. Great lyric: “People like us, know how to survive / There’s no point in living if you can’t feel alive / We know when to kiss, and we know when to kill / If we can’t have it all, then nobody will . . .”
Die Another Day
I never thought a Bond theme by Madonna was a good idea, despite my fondness for “Beautiful Stranger” from the second Austin Powers movie. Imagine my surprise that not only does Madonna do quite well with it, but I also appreciate the electronica elements in the song. Wow! The inherent sadism of the song ties in very nicely with the title credits-long torture session, and with such dark pathos, too! Bonus points for matching up so well in the very beginning with the cocking scorpion tails. Genius! It might be too much for non-fans and the elderly, but if you can dig it, it’s oh so good. Even your cameo isn’t too bad, Madonna, so nice work. Great lyric: “I think I’ll find another way / There’s so much more to know / I guess I’ll die another day / It’s not my time to go”
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