David G. Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is an English film composer best kno… Read Full Bio ↴David G. Arnold (born 23 January 1962) is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, as well as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998) and the television series Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television and for Sherlock he, and co-composer Michael Price, won a Creative Arts Emmy for the score of "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold scored the BBC / Amazon Prime series Good Omens (2019) adapted by Neil Gaiman from his book Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett. Arnold is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

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.

Live And Let Die
David Arnold Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When you were young
And your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
You know you did
You know you did
You know you did
But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in

Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die

What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do you got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell

You used to say live and let live
You know you did
You know you did
You know you did
But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry

Say live and let die
Live and let die

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of David Arnold’s song “Live and Let Die” can be interpreted in different ways, but at the center of it all is the idea of how life changes. The opening lyrics, “When you were young, And your heart was an open book, You used to say live and let live, You know you did, You know you did, You know you did” depicts an idealistic view of life, symbolizing a time when people were more relaxed, forgiving and accepting of one another. However, as people grow older, they are often caught up with responsibilities and obligations, leading to a shift in their perception of life. The line “But if this ever changin’ world in which we live in, Makes you give in and cry, Say live and let die, Live and let die” may be interpreted as the artist’s call to let go of our ideals and adapt to the changing circumstances.

David Arnold then goes on to say “What does it matter to ya when you got a job to do, You got to do it well, You got to give the other fella hell” implies that sometimes, one has to put their needs and ideals aside in order to achieve a common goal. In life, we are all tasked with certain responsibilities that we must fulfill to the best of our abilities, regardless of how it affects others.

In conclusion, “Live and Let Die” is a song that examines the changing nature of life and how we must adapt to keep up with it while also fulfilling our responsibilities and staying true to ourselves.

Line by Line Meaning

When you were young
When you were a child

And your heart was an open book
And you were transparent in expressing your emotions

You used to say live and let live
You used to advocate for noninterference and acceptance

You know you did
You are aware of your past beliefs and actions

But if this ever changin' world
However, if this constantly evolving world

In which we live in
In which we currently reside

Makes you give in and cry
Causes you to feel defeated and teary-eyed

Say live and let die
Declare that it is better to let go and accept the natural order of things

Live and let die
Live your life without worrying about what you cannot control

What does it matter to ya
Why should you be concerned

When you got a job to do you got to do it well
When you have a task to accomplish, you must do it correctly and efficiently