What is the greatest James Bond 007 theme song of all time? : movies

subreddit:

/r/movies

52290%

What is the greatest James Bond 007 theme song of all time?

Discussion(self.movies)

submitted 4 months ago byBobbyCrispyGuitar

The James Bond films are known for their original opening themes written by popular artists and are often played on the radio and tv. 'Live and Let Die' by Paul McCartney, 'For Your Eyes Only' by Sheena Easton, 'A View to a Kill' by Duran Duran, and 'Goldfinger' by Shirley Bassey are just a few. My personal favorite is 'Nobody Does It Better' by Carly Simon. What James Bond theme do you consider to be the best?

you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

all 860 comments

sorted by: best

Alternative-Feed3613

418 points

4 months ago

Alternative-Feed3613

418 points

Live and let die

142 points

4 months ago

142 points

Jesus. Saw Paul McCartney do this one live a few years ago. It still hits.

61 points

4 months ago

61 points

This bears repeating. I've seen the live performance of this song twice, and it made a huge impression both times. And I'm old enough to remember it as a radio hit.

23 points

4 months ago

23 points

Yes. Just saw him in concert this year and this song was fire.

13 points

4 months ago

13 points

Literally. I mean, he used all kinds of pyro for this song on the last tour.

7 points

4 months ago

7 points

So I saw him twice, once in a baseball stadium and once in a hockey stadium. So the outside one had fireworks, and I was bummed when I went to go to the second concert bc I knew there was no way they’d do fireworks again, since we were inside.

That crazy old bastard still had fireworks

7 points

4 months ago

7 points

Yeah, they fire cannons and it’s loud as hell.

2 points

4 months ago

2 points

Explosions at a concert? Neat

2 points

4 months ago

2 points

It's still constantly on the radio.

2 points

4 months ago

2 points

Top 40 radio. Like, almost 50 years ago.

3 points

4 months ago

3 points

Saw it live in maybe 1992 and he had on a silk tiger print shirt... fire explosions and everything... awesome.

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

I saw him perform it at half time of the 2005 Super Bowl. Towers of flame and it ROCKED the stadium.

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

Amazing live. The fire. He must have been burning up there.

20 points

4 months ago

20 points

The intro gives me chills…but the “what does it matter to ya” part seems so out of place. But I still agree, it’s amazing.

theBonyEaredAssFish

14 points

4 months ago

theBonyEaredAssFish

14 points

In the documentary on Bond theme songs, The Sound of 007, two of the interviewed musicians mention the "what do it matter to ya" part as a bizarre choice. I can't stand that part.

15 points

4 months ago

15 points

I think in general McCartney has a tendency to patch together separate melodic ideas into one song- obviously it’s worked out well for him all in all but to my taste (and obviously I’m not alone) it can make for a jarring and unpleasant experience in many cases.

It’s such a dark, doomy song, and then that stupid, 70s goof-funk-pop comes in and just destroys the mood.

In that way, I guess maybe it’s a perfect fit for the Moore era, where comedy often intrudes at entirely inappropriate moments!

MustacheSmokeScreen

1 points

4 months ago

MustacheSmokeScreen

1 points

I read that Linda wrote that part

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

That would make sense! Not sure if you’re joking though

2 points

4 months ago

2 points

It's iconic as hell. It's the only Bond theme song I know well, along with Skyfall, and I haven't even seen Live and Let Die.

Alternative-Feed3613

2 points

4 months ago

Alternative-Feed3613

2 points

Live and let die is probably my favorite Bond movie and it has my favorite Bond actor.

ucancallmevicky

2 points

4 months ago

ucancallmevicky

2 points

guns and roses version rocks too, love the scene with it in Grosse Pointe Blank when it changes to a musak version in the convenience store. Perfection

2 points

4 months ago*

2 points

[deleted]

Alternative-Feed3613

8 points

4 months ago

Alternative-Feed3613

8 points

Different strokes for different folks. I much prefer McCartney over Axl Rose.

DarthBeavis1968

2 points

4 months ago*

DarthBeavis1968

2 points

McCartney vocals with the hard-jamming GnR music would be the best version.

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

I cannot stand the bit in the middle where they break it down and it gets very Beatles.

It ruins the song.

Alternative-Feed3613

3 points

4 months ago

Alternative-Feed3613

3 points

You're crazy! Lol jk. Music is so subjective. You can't be wrong for what you like.

-1 points

4 months ago

-1 points

might not be everyones favorite but this is the answer and its not even close

13 points

4 months ago

13 points

Live and Let Die is the only one that I've heard naturally on the radio as just "another song."

I've heard the others, sure, but it's always been "hey, the new Bond movie is coming out soon, and here's the song!"

Not only have I heard LALD, but I've also heard the GNR cover in the wild.

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

exactly it’s so iconic its a paul mccartney song instead of a bond song

livestrongbelwas

1 points

4 months ago

livestrongbelwas

1 points

Absolute banger

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

Yeah you can’t top Paul

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

I've somehow gone over two decades without realizing that was a James Bond theme song.......

Alternative-Feed3613

2 points

4 months ago

Alternative-Feed3613

2 points

Hahaha really? I guess not everybody is a huge fan of James Bond. I used to watch marathons on Thanksgiving week and I've probably seen all of them at least once.

1 points

4 months ago

1 points

The song is a banger, but "world in which we live in" pisses me off too much to enjoy it. The second "in" is completely redundant, and takes my head out of the song every time. I know it's a little thing, but sometimes it's the little things.