"Tomorrow Never Dies" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow that serves as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

to the 1997 James Bond film of the same name and its

video game adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography ...

. The song was co-written by Crow and the song's producer

Mitchell Froom Mitchell Froom (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician and record producer. He was a member of the bands Gamma and Latin Playboys, and is currently the keyboardist for Crowded House. He has produced albums for several artists, including R ...

, and became her fifth UK top-20 hit, peaking at 12 in December 1997.

History

Another song, "Tomorrow Never Dies", written by the movie's composer

David Arnold David Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is a British film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films, as well as ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), ''Godzilla'' (1998) and the television series ''Little Britain'' ...

and performed by

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

, was originally produced as the official theme tune. When Crow's song became the official theme, the k.d. lang song was relegated to the end credits and renamed "Surrender". The melody of "Surrender" still remains in Arnold's score. In addition to lang's song, the James Bond producers solicited tracks from other artists, including

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

the Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows sin ...

, Saint Etienne, and Swan Lee. These ultimately were rejected in favour of Crow's song.

Reception

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote, "Crow steps forward with a tune that perfectly fuses her distinctive

rock/pop Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

style with the bombastic sound that has become the Bond signature. She wails with appropriate melodrama as an array of fluid guitar riffs and swooping strings and piano lines collide at the song's climax." He added, "It's a wonderfully delicious moment that tops off a stellar, deservedly hit-bound recording." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' music critic Jim Farber negatively reviewed the song, explaining, "While Crow's music has the right swank and swing, her brittle voice lacks the operatic quality of the best Bond girls and boys, like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, or even

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

. ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' should be for her ears only." (Manchester has never recorded a song for a James Bond film.) Farber called the choice of Crow "the worst hire since A-ha fronted one of these themes." Writing for

Filmtracks.com Filmtracks.com is a modern film score review website created and maintained by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen. Since the launch of Filmtracks in 1996, the website has reviewed nearly two-thousand soundtracks dating as far back as 1954, t ...

, Christian Clemmensen wished

Lang Lang may refer to: * Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin Places * Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica * Lang Nunatak, Antarctica * Lang Sound, Antarctica * Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia * L ...

's song had remained, and thought Crow's "beach-bum voice and lazy performance was a disgrace to the film." Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' wrote that "this is a topnotch song and a classy record. In true Bond style, it could best be described as a mini epic." A reviewer from ''

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'' gave it four out of five, stating that it "strikes the right cinematic note, relying on the traditional John Barry orchestral cues and kettle drum." ''

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'' also complimented the song, saying, "But, believe it or not, this is a low-key beauty and probably the best thing 'Miss' Crow has ever done. Crow has virtually reinvented the Bond theme by shrugging off the weight of history and playing it straight." A reviewer from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' was critical, believing Lang's song to be superior. Ian Hyland from '' Sunday Mirror'' rated the song nine out of ten. He commented, "Miss Crow follows the fine tradition of Bond themery with a dreamily brilliant rock song demanding play after play."

Awards and nominations

At the 55th Golden Globe Awards, "Tomorrow Never Dies" received a nomination for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, but it lost to "

My Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On" is a 1997 song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song serves as the main theme to James Cameron's blockbuster film '' Titanic'', based on an account of the transatlantic ocean liner of the same name which san ...

" by

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...

and

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs " Tears in Heaven" and " My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has wo ...

. The song also received a nomination at the

41st Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most no ...

for

Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked ...

, losing again to "My Heart Will Go On".

Track listings

All songs were written by Sheryl Crow. Additional writers are credited in parentheses. * UK CD1 and cassette single # "Tomorrow Never Dies" (full length version) # "The Book" # "No One Said It Would Be Easy" # "Ordinary Morning" * UK CD2 # "Tomorrow Never Dies" # "Tomorrow Never Dies" (video) * European CD and Japanese mini-CD single # "Tomorrow Never Dies" (LP version) – 4:47 # " Strong Enough" (LP version) – 3:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Alternate rejected theme songs

While Sheryl Crow was ultimately selected to sing the theme to ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', like others before it, it was not the only song recorded for the film. A top contender,

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

, wrote a song for the film, which was later retitled "Tomorrow Never Lies" and released as a B-side to their ''

This Is Hardcore ''This Is Hardcore'' is the sixth album by English band Pulp. Released in March 1998, it came three years after their breakthrough album, '' Different Class'', and was eagerly anticipated. In 2013, ''NME'' ranked it at number 166 in its list of ...

'' album in 1998. Britpop band Saint Etienne recorded their own version of a song titled "Tomorrow Never Dies", which was later released as an exclusive to their fanclub on their ''Built On Sand'' album in 1999. Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

and pop singer

's optioned theme, "Surrender", which was co-written by the film's composer,

, ended up being used as an end-title song.

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs A&M Records singles Sheryl Crow songs Song recordings produced by Mitchell Froom Songs from James Bond films Songs written by Mitchell Froom Songs written by Sheryl Crow Songs written for films

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...