Released 1967 Label Reprise | Length 2:48 | |
Recorded 2 May 1967 at the CTS Studios in London Genre Pop
rock
psychedelic
symphonic Writer(s) Leslie Bricusse
John Barry | ||
"You Only Live Twice", performed by Nancy Sinatra, is the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film of the same name. Music was composed and produced by veteran James Bond composer John Barry, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The song is widely recognized for its striking opening bars, featuring a simple 2-bar theme in the high octaves of the violins and lush harmonies from French horns. It is considered by some to be among the best James Bond theme songs, and has become one of Nancy Sinatra's best known hits. Shortly after Barry's production, Sinatra's producer Lee Hazlewood released a more guitar-based single version.
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The song has been extensively covered by artists, from Coldplay to Soft Cell, Björk and Little Anthony & The Imperials to Shirley Bassey. Robbie Williams notably re-recorded the opening bars of the song for his hit "Millennium".
Background
James Bond veteran John Barry returned to the franchise to produce the score. The lyrics were by Leslie Bricusse, who had previously cowritten the lyrics for the theme to Goldfinger. Julie Rogers was asked to perform the song, and recorded it with a 50 or 60 piece orchestra at CTS Studios. The song was quite different from the later Sinatra version, with a more Oriental flavour. Jazz singer Lorraine Chandler also recorded a version of the song that differed greatly from the other two. Chandler's version has a bombastic, Shirley Bassey-sound, which differs from the mellow alternate versions. John Barry said: "It was usually the producers that said 'this isn't working, there's a certain something that it needed'. If that energy wasn't there, if that mysterioso kind of thing wasn't there, then it wasn't going to work for the movie." The song shares only two lines with Sinatra's, "You only live twice", and "you’ll pay the price". The film's producer Cubby Broccoli, wanted his friend Frank Sinatra to perform the song. Frank suggested that they use his daughter instead. Barry wanted to use Aretha Franklin, but the producers insisted that he use Nancy instead, who was enjoying great popularity in the wake of her single, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".
The version (2:46) featured in the film's opening title sequence and on the soundtrack LP is in the key of B and has a single vocal track. The song was recorded with a 60 piece orchestra on 2 May 1967 at the CTS Studios in Bayswater, London. Sinatra later recalled that she was incredibly nervous during the recording, and it took around 30 takes to acquire enough material. Producer John Barry eventually created the final product by incorporating vocals from 25 takes.
Sinatra's American producer Lee Hazlewood created the version that was released as a single. It is in the key of C and features vocal overdubbing, backing chorus, brass and stinging twangy guitar, with a running time of 2:56.
The recognizable opening string melody of the song originates from Alexander Tcherepnin's First Piano Concerto (op.12), composed in 1919, although in his version the initial motif is succeeded by a falling octave pattern instead of transposing and repeating the motif in a different key, as is characteristic to "You Only Live Twice".
Critical reception
Roy Wood described Barry's string introduction to his song "You Only Live Twice" as "absolute perfection". Mark Monahan of The Daily Telegraph described the lyrics as "mysterious, romantically carpe diem ... at once velvety, brittle and quite bewitching". David Ehrlich of Rolling Stone ranked "You Only Live Twice" the third best James Bond theme song, calling it "a classic."
Cover versions
The song is one of the most covered Bond themes.
In popular culture
The song was used in the closing montage of Mad Men's season five finale, "The Phantom". A parody of the song was created for The Simpsons episode "YOLO".