4) You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra
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You can imagine the order from on high regarding where Nancy Sinatra was to take You Only Live Twice‘s theme: “the film’s set in Japan, so make the tune sound vaguely oriental.” Ignoring for the moment that the Asian-influenced guitar bit sounds just a little insulting, though, the You Only Live Twice theme works surprisingly well.
It’s simple, poppy, and sung with typically naked sensuality by Sinatra. And as anyone who saw the season five finale of Mad Men – which reappropriated the song for its closing scene – knows, the words are surprisingly poignant and just a little bit haunting, telling a story of a man who’s forced to constantly live a fantasy.