Thursday, January 7, 2010

Paul's grammar

Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" may be the best Bond song ever.  It's better than Duran Duran's "View to a Kill," it blows doors on Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only," and it's at least on par with Carly Simon's "Nobody Does it Better."  But the lyrics are problematic.  Witness:
When you were young and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
But if this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give it a cry, say live and let die.
What's up with that third line?  Was it sponsored by the word "in"?  Did Paul write it in Innsbruck, in an inn in which he was living in?

4 comments:

Joe said...

Bond songs are like the talent portion of the Miss America pageant: they shouldn't be taken seriously. But Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" eats Paul McCartney's lunch. I know, she didn't write it, so I guess the comparison is not apt. How about the Bond songs that weren't used in the movie? Alice Cooper's "The Man with the Golden Gun" is the only one I can think of.

Robert said...

I'm here to defend the honor of Ms. Easton. "For Your Eyes Only" is a cultured pearl of romantic melody.

Marc said...

What year did Lennon die again? Not suggesting anything. I'm just, y'know, asking.

Seth Masket said...

Robert, I'll grant that "For Your Eyes Only" is better than "Morning Train." But it's no "Strut."