Shirley Bassey – "Goldfinger" (1964)

Goldfinger

He’s the man,

The man with the Midas touch

I’m sure you remember the scene in the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, where villain Auric Goldfinger kills a young woman by covering her entire body with gold paint.  

“She died of skin suffocation,” the know-it-all Bond explains to his boss, M. “It’s all right so long as you leave a small bare patch at the base of the spine to allow the skin to breathe.”

According to Helena Jenkinson’s note, “Skin Suffocation,” which appears in the August 2017 issue of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Dermatology journal, the skin does in fact breathe.  But the amount of oxygen taken in through the skin is only about 0.4% as much as the human body obtains through breathing.

“In other words,” Jenkinson writes, “one will not asphyxiate from being painted head to toe, as long as air continues to flow via mouth and nose to the lungs.”

In other other words, 007 was so full of sh*t that his eyes were brown.

*     *     *     *     *

Is there any doubt that “Goldfinger” is the best James Bond movie theme song ever?

Shirley Bassey was a popular UK recording artist when she was picked by the man who composed “Goldfinger,” John Barry, to record that song in 1964.  

Bassey and Barry with their
“Goldfinger” gold records

Barry, who eventually composed the scores for eleven James Bond films, had conducted the orchestra that accompanied Bassey on a tour the previous year.  The two had become romantically involved during that tour, which probably didn’t hurt Bassey’s chances when it was time for Barry to choose someone to record “Goldfinger.” 

Barry, who was married four times, must have had pretty good game because the second of his wives was the legendary beauty, Jane Birkin.  (After Barry and Birkin divorced in 1968, she hooked up with singer/songwriter/actor/director/poet/painter Serge Gainsbourg.  The actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg is their daughter.)

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

Regardless of whether Barry’s decision was made by his big head or his little head, Bassey knocked “Goldfinger” out of the park. 

Particularly noteworthy is the long last note, which Bassey held until she was blue in the face.  (She removed her bra between takes in the hope that doing so would allow her to inhale a little extra oxygen.)

“Goldfinger” was a top ten hit in the U.S., Japan, Germany, Italy, and a number of other countries.  Oddly, it peaked at #21 in the UK.

Here’s “Goldfinger”:

Click below to buy the song from Amazon: 

Goldfinger -- "Here in Your Bedroom" (1996)

When I wake up tomorrow

Will you have changed?

'Cause I still feel the same

I would have featured this song on 2 or 3 lines long before now except that I was sure that I had already featured this song on 2 or 3 lines long before now.  Does that make sense?

Before you answer, let me rephrase that question.  Does that make sense according to the rather peculiar logic that applies on 2 or 3 lines?

OMG, this is such a fabulous song I don't know what to do with myself!

This blog is ostensibly about song lyrics -- the title is 2 or 3 lines, after all . . . not 2 or 3 notes, or 2 or 3 chords, or 2 or 3 hooks.  But I can deal with blah lyrics if the music is great -- vice versa, not so much.

There's not a lot to the lyrics of this song.  The singer is a guy who is lying in bed with a woman, wondering what she is thinking about and how she will feel about him tomorrow.  (In other words, is he going to get any more somethin'-somethin', or did he just drill a dry hole?)

He's not really sure what he thinks about it all either; in fact, he sings (twice), "I don't know what I'm thinking."  However, he is sure that he will feel the same tomorrow.  (Go figure.)

That's pretty much the whole song in terms of lyrics.  There's not much of a narrative to sink your teeth into, and no real poetry to deconstruct.

But the music is (in the words of Allmusic) "irresistibly catchy" and "hopelessly endearing."  (Hey, that sounds a lot like 2 or 3 lines!)

"Here in Your Bedroom" was released on Goldfinger's eponymous debut album in 1996.  (Appearing on an eponymous debut album is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for a song to be featured on 2 or 3 lines, but it sure as hell don't hurt.)  That album helped kick off a mini-ska/punk movement in the U.S.

I'm not a big fan of ska generally -- most ska musicians dress kind of stupid, and are very annoying with all their jumping and twitching.  (You'll see what I mean when you watch the music video for this song.)

But the ska elements of "Here in Your Bedroom" -- primarily the drumming style, but also the on-the-upbeat rhythm guitar -- makes this song much more appealing than it would have been without the ska feel.  

It's too early to end this post, but I don't really have anything more to say.  Let me check Wikipedia and see if I can find anything worth mentioning.

Goldfinger lead singer (and animal
rights activist) John Feldman

Hmmmmm . . . hey, here's something.  Lead singer John Feldmann and bass player Simon Williams, who founded the band in 1994, met when they were both working at the same shoe store.  That's pretty interesting, huh?

OK . . . I'm got a plane to catch early in the morning, so that's going to have to do it for now.

But if it will make you happier, I'll drop in this quote from philosopher George Santayana, which I had planned to use in the upcoming 2 or 3 lines, but then decided to cut because it was so pointless:

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness.  When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual.  Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Got that?  It will make more sense after you read the next 2 or 3 lines.

Let me rephrase that statement.  It will make more sense according to the rather peculiar logic that applies on 2 or 3 lines.

Here's "Here in Your Bedroom":

Here's a link you can use to buy the song from Amazon: