You Only Live Twice ( song ) - wikipedia You Only Live Twice ( song ) `` You Only Live Twice '' Single by Nancy Sinatra from the album You Only Live Twice Released 1967 Recorded 2 May 1967 at the CTS Studios in London Genre Psychedelic pop Orchestral pop Symphonic rock Length 2 : 48 Label Reprise Songwriter ( s ) Leslie Bricusse John Barry Producer ( s ) 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. 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 ''. Contents 1 Background 1.1 Critical reception 2 Cover versions 3 In popular culture 4 Charts 5 See also 6 References Background Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s 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 is n't working, there 's a certain something that it needed '. If that energy was n't there, if that mysterioso kind of thing was n't there, then it was n'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. 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. Little Anthony & The Imperials included a cover of the song on their album Movie Grabbers. English synthpop duo Soft Cell included a cover on the B - side of their 1984 single `` Soul Inside ''. Australian band The Scientists released a heavy guitar version of the song as a single in 1985. Acen sampled the string section on his song `` Trip II the Moon ( Part 2 ) '' in 1992. American band Pain Teens released an industrial - rock version of the song, that can be found in a various artists compilation album `` Love and Napalm ''. Robbie Williams re-recorded portions of the song ( notably the opening strings ) for use in his 1998 song `` Millennium ''. The music was re-recorded rather than sampled, as this was less expensive than licensing the original recording. Coldplay released their cover as a B - side on their `` Do n't Panic '' single. Björk recorded a version for the 1997 album Shaken and Stirred : The David Arnold James Bond Project but it was not included on the album. It is available as a free download from bjork.com. Natacha Atlas included a cover, that appears to use exactly the same arrangement of the song David Arnold prepared for Björk, on her 2005 compilation album The Best of Natacha Atlas. Shirley Bassey, the vocalist for the title songs from the Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker, performed the song on her 2007 album Get the Party Started. Indie - pop group The Postmarks recorded a version for their 2008 album By the Numbers. Cee - Lo Green samples the song for his 2011 single `` Bright Lights Bigger City ''. Mark Lanegan included a cover of this song on his 2013 covers album Imitations. Ex Chameleons front man Mark Burgess covered this in 1993 as Mark Burgess & the Sons of God on the album Zima Junction Lea Michele sampled the trademark notes in her Louder ' s song, `` You 're Mine ''. Bill Frisell covered it on his 2016 album When You Wish Upon a Star, an album devoted to covers of songs from movies and television. This version is sung by Petra Haden, the daughter of Frisell 's frequent collaborator bassist Charlie Haden. In 2014, Taiwanese - American singer - songwriter Joanna Wang covered the song on her album Midnight Cinema. 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 ''. Charts Chart ( 1967 ) Peak position AUS 10 CAN 39 UK 11 US 44 US AC See also James Bond music References ^ Jump up to : Rosen, Christopher ( 2012 - 06 - 11 ). `` ' Mad Men ' ' You Only Live Twice ' : Season 5 Finale Closes With Bond Theme ''. The Huffington Post. Jump up ^ MI6 - HQ Copyright 2011. `` You Only Sing Twice - MI6 uncovers the twists and turns that the You Only Live Twice theme song took, from Julie Rogers to Nancy Sinatra : : MI6 : : You Only Live Twice ( 1967 ) : : James Bond 007 ''. Mi6-hq.com. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 12. Jump up ^ Hastings, Rob ( 1 February 2011 ). `` Tributes to John Barry, the man with the Midas touch for movie music ''. The Independent. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Jon Burlingame. The Music Of James Bond. Oxford University Press. pp. 197 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 998676 - 7. Retrieved 5 October 2012. Jump up ^ Jon Burlingame. The Music Of James Bond. Oxford University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 998676 - 7. Retrieved 5 October 2012. Jump up ^ Jon Burlingame. The Music Of James Bond. Oxford University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 998676 - 7. Retrieved 5 October 2012. Jump up ^ Monahan, Mark ( 2006 - 11 - 16 ). `` James Bond songs From Bassey and Barry to Bono and Tina ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ Ehrlich, David ( 2015 - 11 - 02 ). `` James Bond Movie Theme Songs, Ranked Worst to Best ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 17. Jump up ^ `` YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE ( On ne vit que deux fois ) Alternate Opening by Little Anthony & The Imperials ''. YouTube. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Nancy Sinatra, ' You Only Live Twice ' ( 1967 ) ''. Rolling Stone. Jump up ^ Paul Simpson ( 2002 ). The Rough Guide to James Bond. Rough Guides. p. 227. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84353 - 142 - 5. Retrieved 5 October 2012. Nancy Sinatra Discography Studio albums Boots How Does That Grab You ? Nancy in London Nancy Woman Nancy Sinatra Shifting Gears Soundtrack albums Movin ' with Nancy Collaboration albums Nancy & Lee The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas Singles `` Like I Do '' `` These Boots Are Made for Walkin ' '' `` Sugar Town '' `` Summer Wine '' ( with Lee Hazlewood ) `` Somethin ' Stupid '' ( with Frank Sinatra ) `` Jackson '' ( with Lee Hazlewood ) `` You Only Live Twice '' `` Tony Rome '' `` Some Velvet Morning '' ( with Lee Hazlewood ) `` Here We Go Again '' `` Let Me Kiss You '' Related Frank Sinatra ( father ) Frank Sinatra Jr. ( brother ) Tina Sinatra ( sister ) Tommy Sands ( former husband ) James Bond music Themes `` James Bond Theme '' ( Monty Norman ) `` James Bond Is Back '' ( John Barry ) `` 007 Theme '' ( John Barry ) `` On Her Majesty 's Secret Service '' ( John Barry ) `` Bond 77 '' ( Marvin Hamlisch ) `` James Bond Theme '' ( Moby ) Soundtracks Dr. No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball Casino Royale You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty 's Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy Never Say Never Again A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Quantum of Solace Skyfall Spectre Composers Monty Norman John Barry Burt Bacharach George Martin Marvin Hamlisch Bill Conti Michel Legrand Michael Kamen Éric Serra David Arnold Thomas Newman Eon themes `` Kingston Calypso '' `` From Russia with Love '' `` Goldfinger '' `` Thunderball '' `` You Only Live Twice '' `` We Have All the Time in the World '' `` Diamonds Are Forever '' `` Live and Let Die '' `` The Man with the Golden Gun '' `` Nobody Does It Better '' `` Moonraker '' `` For Your Eyes Only '' `` All Time High '' `` A View to a Kill '' `` The Living Daylights '' `` Where Has Everybody Gone ? '' `` Licence to Kill '' `` If You Asked Me To '' `` GoldenEye '' `` Tomorrow Never Dies '' `` The World Is Not Enough '' `` Die Another Day '' `` You Know My Name '' `` Another Way to Die '' `` Skyfall '' `` Writing 's on the Wall '' Non-Eon themes `` Casino Royale '' `` The Look of Love '' `` Never Say Never Again '' Compilations Shaken and Stirred The Incredible World of James Bond The Best of Bond... James Bond Related articles Eon films secondary songs Non-Eon films secondary songs Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You_Only_Live_Twice_(song)&oldid=850976140 '' Categories : 1967 singles Nancy Sinatra songs Songs from James Bond films You Only Live Twice ( film ) Songs with music by John Barry ( composer ) Songs written by Leslie Bricusse Little Anthony and the Imperials songs 1967 songs Reprise Records singles Coldplay songs Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 19 July 2018, at 07 : 09 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song you only live twice
Answer: composer John Barry, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse