While attending a Sixth Form College in Luton, Arnold became friends with director Danny Cannon. Cannon initially created short films for which Arnold was asked to write the music. The two made their respective major film debuts with The Young Americans. "Play Dead", a song from the film with singer Björk, charted #12 in the UK. The following year he scored Stargate and Last of the Dogmen, with excerpts from the former ranking third in the most commonly used soundtrack cues for film trailers.
Arnold then composed music for Stargate director Roland Emmerich's next two movies, Independence Day and Godzilla, as well as four movies for director John Singleton. In addition, he has scored various comedies, dramas, and nineteenth-century period pieces, as well as providing music for several British television shows including the 2000 remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Little Britain. During film production, his compositions are conducted by Nicholas Dodd. In 2010, he composed the music for Come Fly With Me, a British television series from the producers of Little Britain.
He is a member of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA). On Thursday 29 November 2012, Arnold received an honorary degree from University of West London. Now a university honorary, he will work closely with the University in particular London College of Music, a faculty within the institute. In 2014, he appeared as himself in The Life of Rock with Brian Pern.
He has collaborated with such musical acts as Cast, Kaiser Chiefs, Massive Attack, and Pulp, and solo artists Natasha Bedingfield, Melanie C, Björk, Chris Cornell, Shirley Manson, Mark Morriss, Nina Persson and in 2009 produced Shirley Bassey's album The Performance.
In 2001, he provided a new arrangement of Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme music for the Eighth Doctor audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. His version was used as the Eighth Doctor theme starting with 2001's Storm Warning until 2008, when it was replaced with a new version arranged by Nicholas Briggs starting with Dead London. Arnold's theme returned to the Eighth Doctor releases with the 2012 box set, Dark Eyes.
Arnold is the second cousin of Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, and is an ambassador for aid agency CARE International in the UK. He has made minor appearances in two different episodes of Little Britain as separate characters.
In February 2011, it was announced that he was appointed Musical Director for the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
In May 2011, he was part of the United Kingdom's jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.
Arnold took part in a tribute to John Barry on 20 June 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, singing a song that was composed by Barry and playing the guitar part of the James Bond theme.
In 2014, Arnold teamed up with Richard Thomas, to write the music and lyrics for the new West End musical Made in Dagenham.
In October 2015 he collaborated with Lethal Bizzle and Sinead Harnett to create a song combining orchestral, grime and soul elements. The song, 'Come This Far', was performed live at a special event at One Mayfair, as part of Bulmers Cider's LiveColourful LIVE promotion, and made available as a free download from Bulmers' website. He and Sherlock co-composer Michael Price also composed the music for ITV's Jekyll and Hyde television series which premiered in October 2015.
In September 2016 the Royal Albert Hall hosted an orchestral performance of Independence Day with the score performed live to picture, David Arnold gave a pre-show talk.
All for One...
David Arnold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forget these wide-eyed fears;
I'm here, nothing can harm you,
My words will warm and calm you.
Let me be your freedom,
Let daylight dry your tears;
I'm here, with you, beside you,To guard you and to guide you.
Say you love me every waking moment,
Turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you now and always;
Promise me that all you say is true,
That's all I ask of you.
Let me be your shelter,
Let me be your light;
You're safe, no one will find you,
Your fears are far behind you.
All I want is freedom,
A world with no more night;
And you, always beside me,
To hold me and to hide me.
Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;
Let me lead you from your solitude.
Say you need me with you, here beside you,
Anywhere you go, let me go too,
Christine, that's all I ask of you
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;
Say the word and I will follow you.
Share each day with me,
Each night, each morning.
Say you love me!
RAOUL
You know I do.
Anywhere you go, let me go to
Love me, that's all I ask of you.
(they kiss)
I must go
They'll wonder where I am
Wait for me Raoul!
Christine I love you!
Order your fine horses!
Be with them at the door!
And soon you'll be beside me!
You'll guard me and you'll guide me
(they hurry off and the phantom emerges from behind the statue)
I gave you my music
Made your song take wing
And now how you've repaid me
Denied me and betrayed me
He was bound to love you when he heard you sing
Christine
Christine
Say you'll share with me one love,
One lifetime say the word and I will follow you
Share each day with me, each night, each morning
You will curse the day you did not do
All that the Phantom asked of you!
Go!
David Arnold's song "All for One" is a beautiful love ballad from the musical "The Phantom of the Opera". The lyrics are sung by Raoul, the male lead, to the female lead, Christine. He assures her that he would protect her and guide her from her fears, which is strongly emphasized in the opening lines, "No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears, I'm here, nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you." Raoul asks for her love and commitment, saying that he wants to be her freedom and guiding light. He wants to be by her side always and promises to share a lifetime of love with her. The chorus line, "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime; let me lead you from your solitude" is particularly impressive and highlights the depth of their love.
Line by Line Meaning
No more talk of darkness
We will move away from our past sadness and difficulties.
Forget these wide-eyed fears
All worries should be pushed aside.
I'm here, nothing can harm you
I am here to protect you, and nothing will hurt you while I am here.
My words will warm and calm you
Words of comfort and tranquility will come from me.
Let me be your freedom
I want you to be able to live freely.
Let daylight dry your tears
Let the bright sun dry your tears.
I'm here, with you, beside you
I am standing by your side, ready to do whatever is necessary.
To guard you and to guide you
I will protect you and lead you.
Say you love me every waking moment
Tell me that you love me all the time.
Turn my head with talk of summertime
Speak of happy days that make me forget everything else.
Say you need me with you now and always
Tell me you need me and will always be with me.
Promise me that all you say is true
Swear to me you're telling the truth.
That's all I ask of you
This is the only thing I ask of you.
Let me be your shelter
I want to be your safe place.
Let me be your light
I want to be the light that protects and guides you.
You're safe, no one will find you
You are secure, and no one can harm you.
Your fears are far behind you
Forget about your worries; they belong in the past.
All I want is freedom
Freedom is what I truly desire.
A world with no more night
A world where there is no darkness or evil.
And you, always beside me
I want you with me all the time.
To hold me and to hide me
Hold me close and protect me.
Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime
If you agree to love me forever, we will be united in one destiny.
Let me lead you from your solitude
I can take you away from your lonely life.
Say you need me with you, here beside you
Admit that you need me, and I'll be right by your side.
Anywhere you go, let me go too
Don't leave me behind, wherever you go.
Christine, that's all I ask of you
All I require is that you love me.
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime
Let's love each other for eternity.
Say the word and I will follow you
Just ask, and I will do anything for you.
Share each day with me, each night, each morning
Spend all of your time with me.
You know I do
I do love you.
Anywhere you go, let me go too
I'll go wherever you go.
Love me, that's all I ask of you
All I want is for you to love me.
I must go
I have to leave.
They'll wonder where I am
Someone will start searching for me.
Wait for me, Raoul!
Please wait for me, Raoul.
Christine I love you!
I love you very much, Christine!
Order your fine horses!
Get your finest horses.
Be with them at the door!
Be ready to go when they arrive.
And soon you'll be beside me!
Soon you will be with me.
You'll guard me and you'll guide me
You will protect and lead me.
I gave you my music
I shared my music with you.
Made your song take wing
My music helped your singing soar.
And now how you've repaid me
But now, you have betrayed me.
Denied me and betrayed me
You've denied me and let me down.
He was bound to love you when he heard you sing
Raoul was destined to fall in love with you when he heard you sing.
Christine
Her name is Christine.
You will curse the day you did not do
You will regret the day you didn't obey me.
All that the Phantom asked of you!
All I ever expected of you, and nothing more!
Go!
Leave!
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHARLES A. HART, ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, RICHARD HENRY ZACHARY S. STILGOE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind