His family was in the cinema business, but it was during his National Service that he began performing as a musician. After taking a correspondence course and arranging for some of the bands of the day, he formed The John Barry Seven. Barry then met Adam Faith, and composed songs and film scores on the singer's behalf.
It was this notoriety that caught the attention of the producers of Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with the score given to them by Monty Norman. Barry and the JB7 were hired and their recording of Norman's "James Bond Theme" would go on to be one of the most famous signature tunes in film history.
This would be the turning point for Barry, as he would go on to become one of the most celebrated film composers of modern times, winning five Academy Awards and four Grammys, with such memorable scores as The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves.
Barry is often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. However, he was also an innovator, being one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and to make wide use of pop artists and original songs in Midnight Cowboy.
Living in his native England until the mid 1970s, Barry spent some time in Spain (for tax purposes) before spending much of his life in the United States, mainly in Oyster Bay, outside of New York.
Barry died of a heart attack on 30 January 2011, at his Oyster Bay home, aged 77 years.
If There Was a Man
John Barry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Performed by Chrissie Hynde & The Pretenders
If there was a man I could dream of,
I'd dream about a dream come true.
If there was a man I could ever love,
I'd wait a million years for someone just like you.
All my life I've been belated.
Never taking any chances...always hesitating.
Where's the one I'm holding out for?
Was he walking through the door,
The one that you walked through...if it isn`t you?
If there was a man I could dream of,
I'd dream about a dream come true.
If there was a man I could ever love,
I'd wait a million years for someone just like you.
Happy endings never find me!
I'd put all my fantasies and hopes of love behind me.
All my moments overdue but...
If there was a man out there for me
I wish it would be someone who could love me true
If someone was you.
The lyrics to John Barry's song "If There Was a Man," performed by Chrissie Hynde & The Pretenders, speak of unrequited love and the longing for something more. The singer of the song is dreaming about the perfect man for her, someone who could love her truly and completely. However, she is uncertain whether he exists or if she will ever find him.
The first verse sets the tone for the song, stating that the singer is dreaming of a dream come true. She hopes for the perfect man to come into her life but is unsure if he even exists. The second verse emphasizes her hesitance in taking risks, hesitating to pursue potential relationships. She wonders where the payoff and the glory are and when she will find the one she is holding out for.
The chorus repeats the sentiment of dreaming about the perfect man and waiting for someone just like him. The next verse speaks of the singer's past failures in love and her resignation to the fact that happy endings never find her. However, despite her failures, she still holds onto hope that there is someone out there for her who can love her truly.
The final line of the song is poignant, as the singer wishes that this person who could love her truly would be the one for her, subtly hinting that it may be the person singing the song, or perhaps a hypothetical future love.
Overall, "If There Was a Man" is a beautifully written song that speaks to the emotional struggles of finding love and the desire for something more. The use of the conditional tense in the lyrics emphasizes the uncertainty and hypothetical nature of the singer's dreams and desires.
Line by Line Meaning
If there was a man I could dream of,
If there was a perfect man that I could imagine
I'd dream about a dream come true.
I would dream about having all my wishes fulfilled
If there was a man I could ever love,
If there was someone I could truly love
I'd wait a million years for someone just like you.
I would patiently wait for my ideal partner, even if it takes forever
All my life I've been belated.
I've always been behind, never ahead of the game
Never taking any chances...always hesitating.
I've been too afraid to take risks and make choices
Where's the payoff? Where's the glory?
Where's the reward for all my efforts? Where's the success?
Where's the one I'm holding out for?
Where's the person I've been waiting for?
Was he walking through the door,
Did the person I'm waiting for just arrive?
The one that you walked through...if it isn't you?
If you're not the person I'm waiting for, did the right person just walk through?
Happy endings never find me!
I never seem to have a happy ending or successful outcome
I'd put all my fantasies and hopes of love behind me.
I've given up on having any dreams or expectations for love
All my moments overdue but...
All my chances for love have passed, but...
If there was a man out there for me
If there was a man who could love me
I wish it would be someone who could love me true
I hope that the person who would love me is someone who truly loves me
If someone was you.
I'm wondering if you're the one who could love me true
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: CHRISSIE HYNDE, JOHN BARRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Divine Diva
If there was a man I could dream of
I'd dream about a dream come true
If there was a man I could ever love
I'd wait a million years for someone just like you
All my life I have been belated
Never taking any chances, always hesitating
Where's the payoff? Where's the glory?
Where's the one I'm holding out for
When's he walking through the door
The one that you walked through
If he isn't you
If there was a man I could dream of
I'd dream about a dream come true
If there was a man I could ever love
I'd wait a million years for someone just like you
Happy endings never find me
I put all my fantasies and hopes of love behind me
Saw my moments overdue but
If there was a man out there for me
I wish it would be
Someone who could love me too
If someone was you
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: John Barry / Chrissie Hynde
If There Was A Man lyrics © U/a Music Inc., United Lion Music, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, U/a Music Inc.
So beautiful! It should be every woman's theme song.
I can't really remember how old I was when this movie came out, I think I was 16 but I remember it was one of the best James Bond film I love for my time and the soundtrack was just beautiful especially Patti LaBelle's "If you ask me" to which Celine Dion stole it actually had the nerve to win a Grammy ... Smh.. scandalous!!! The next movie was to come out was License to Kill, the song title "License to Kill" by Gladys Knight was the theme song and it stole my heart. It was so sexy and so seductive and it was a real thrill that they had a black woman singing the theme song.
License to Kill " killed" the movie charts that year and will always be the number one among the James Bonds movie's. Timothy Dalton was so sexy, the perfect Bond Man him and Pierce Bronston will be the all-time great 007's🔫
david rowell
Barry and Hynde created a minor classic here. OK, Bond's 'facade' was 'martinis, girls, guns and cars', which made for entertaining scenes...BUT, at his core, Bond was a contract spy & killer with a cold demeanour. He lived a dangerous, transient life with no permanent ties. This song best reflects his real emptiness and sadness. Dalton expressed this well, perhaps too well. Barry's melody is majestic, haunting and nostalgic. Chrissie's vocal is emotional and compelling, its lyrics relating the inner sadness of the character. In under 3 minutes, this song sums up the REAL Bond...lonely, sad & beautiful.
Maximus
Beautifully brought out David....
Cooper Wolfe
@david rowell Thanks I’ll have to check it out. I’ll say this On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in my opinion has the best soundtrack of the Bond films.
david rowell
@Cooper Wolfe Cooper, I agree with you. So, I say, buy the soundtrack - you get some extra instrumental versions of this, and some tunes which use it as a motif, which I found very satisfying. The rest of the tracks aren't bad either. PS...Never thought I'd buy a 'Bond' soundtrack, but this one song made me do it!!
DinoRocker 86
That might be true with the real Bond, but he did it to protect the innocent from the jackals of the world, sometimes you need guys like Bond to sleep at night, 'cause it's like the sayin' goes "No Rest For the Wicked." Anyway, nice description.
Cooper Wolfe
I agree with you. To be honest, I only started listening to this song yesterday, but I’ll say that of all the songs that were used for Dalton’s films this is my favorite, and my only criticism of it is that I wish it was longer that’s how good it is.
Cooper Wolfe
If anyone asks me who the definitive James Bond is I’m going to say Timothy Dalton. I know that his movies weren’t the most popular and he didn’t appear in the most movies. But I think he combined the quick wit of Moore’s and Brosnan’s Bonds, while also being serious and dark when he had to be.
Cooper Wolfe
@SkyfallNinja Thanks. Although for me personally Connery is number 3. Craig is number 2.
James Watson
He's my favorite bond for those reasons. If you read the bond books Dalton played him perfectly. He was the blueprint for Daniel Craig's version of JB.
SkyfallNinja
@Nature Boy I agree with Cooper, Dalton IS Bond. Sean I would rank a close second though.