Paul McCartney & WINGS – Live And Let Die
McCartney reunites with George Martin to produce the most successful Bond theme to date
“Live and Let Die” the theme song for the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. It was one of the group’s most successful singles, and the most successful Bond theme to that point, charting at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart.
Wings co-founder and drummer, Denny Seiwell said of this song: “Everybody thought it was cool that we were doing something for James Bond.” Live and Let Die was a play on the title of the eighth James bond film, Live and Let live“.
The producers of the movie had specifically requested McCartney to write the title track for the new Bond film, and had sent him the book just a few weeks before to read. Denny Seiwell: “We were up at the house one day and he (Paul) had just read the book the night before, he sat down at the piano and said, ‘James Bond… James Bond… da-da-dum!’, and he started screwing around at the piano.”
Within 10 minutes, Paul had that written the song. “It was awesome, really. Just to watch him get in there and write the song was really something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
Live and Let Die fun facts!
- This was the most successful Bond theme up to that point. Other hits from James Bond movies include “Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon, “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton, and “A View To A Kill” by Duran Duran.
- McCartney was initially asked to write a song for the movie for someone else to perform. He agreed to write it only if his band Wings could perform it.
- Guns N’ Roses covered this in 1991 on Use Your Illusion I. Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon sang backup on the track.
+Live and Let Die lyrics below+
When you were young and your heart was an open book
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’re living
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die
Live and let die
Live and let die
What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do
You gotta do it well
You gotta give the other fellow hell
When you were young and your heart was an open book
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’re living
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die
Live and let die
Live and let die
