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.
From Russia With Love
David Arnold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Much wiser since my goodbye to you
I've travelled the world to learn
I must return
From Russia with love
I've seen places, faces
And smile for a moment But, oh, you haunted me so
Still, my tongue tied young bride
Would not let my love for you show
In case you'd say "No"
To Russia I flew but there and then
I suddenly knew you'd care again
My running around is through
I'd fly to you
From Russia with love
The lyrics of David Arnold's song "From Russia With Love" depict a complex story of a person who has travelled the world, met different people, and seen new places but finds themselves returning to the one they truly love. The first line of the song "From Russia with love, I fly to you" sets the tone for the theme of the song. The singer has travelled the world, gained wisdom along the way, but ultimately has to return to their love in Russia. The song then goes on to describe the journey the singer took and the things that they experienced while they were away from Russia.
The lines "I've seen places, faces, and smiled for a moment, but, oh, you haunted me so" express how the singer has seen different places and met new people but still, the thought of their love in Russia was always on their mind. The next lines "Still my tongue-tied, young bride, would not let my love for you show, in case you'd say "No"" reveals the vulnerability of the singer and the fear they carried in expressing their love for the person in Russia.
In the second half of the song, the singer finally decides to go back to Russia, feeling confident that their love will reciprocate their feelings. This is shown in the line "To Russia, I flew but there and then, I suddenly knew you'd care again" indicating that the singer is aware that the person they love still holds feelings for them. The final lines "My running around is through, I'd fly to you, from Russia with love" emphasize the idea that despite travelling the world, the singer has found that the most important thing in their life is their love in Russia and flying back to them is the only thing that matters.
Line by Line Meaning
From Russia with love, I fly to you
I am leaving Russia and flying back to you with love
Much wiser since my goodbye to you
Since we parted ways, I have gained much knowledge and experience
I've travelled the world to learn
I have visited many different places to gain knowledge
I must return
I feel a strong need to come back to you
From Russia with love
I am bringing my love with me from Russia
I've seen places, faces
I have seen many different locations and people
And smile for a moment
I have briefly enjoyed those experiences
But, oh, you haunted me so
Despite those experiences, you have lingered in my thoughts
Still, my tongue tied young bride
I was too nervous and scared to express my love for you
Would not let my love for you show
I didn't want you to reject me, so I kept my feelings hidden
In case you'd say "No"
I was afraid of the possibility of rejection
To Russia I flew but there and then
I flew to Russia, but then something happened
I suddenly knew you'd care again
I had a sudden realization that your feelings for me had not changed
My running around is through
I am done traveling and exploring, my wandering days are over
I'd fly to you
I want to fly back to you
From Russia with love
I am bringing my love with me from Russia
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN BARRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind