Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
John Barry Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

He's tall and he's dark,
And like a shark, he looks for trouble,
That's why the zero's double,
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

He's suave and he's smooth
And he can soothe you like vanilla.
The gentleman's a killer.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Damoiselles and danger
Have filled the stranger's past.
Like a knife he cuts thro' life
Like ev'ry day's the last.

He's fast and he's cool.
He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em,
A pity if it grieves 'em.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.

Oh, damoiselles and danger
Have filled the stranger's past.
Like the knife he cuts thro' life
Like ev'ry day's the last.

He's fast and he's cool.
He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em,
A pity if it grieves 'em.
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
No, he's no fool.




He's no fool.
He is no fool.

Overall Meaning

The song "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is the iconic theme song from the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, however, the original version sung by Shirley Bassey and composed by John Barry was never used in the film. The lyrics describe the character of Bond (referred to as "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") as a dangerous but charming gentleman who has had many romantic conquests and is always ready for action. The first verse describes his appearance and his penchant for trouble, while the second verse highlights his smooth and killer nature. The chorus repeats the connection between Bond and danger, emphasizing his cool and fast lifestyle.


Line by Line Meaning

He's tall and he's dark, And like a shark, he looks for trouble, That's why the zero's double, Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
This man is tall, dark and always searching for conflict like a predator in the ocean. Hence this double-zero agent is entitled to be called Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.


He's suave and he's smooth And he can soothe you like vanilla. The gentleman's a killer. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
He is charming, polished and reassuring when it comes to blending in with society. Nonetheless, he's still a violent killer. That's why we address him by the name Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.


Damoiselles and danger Have filled the stranger's past. Like a knife he cuts thro' life Like ev'ry day's the last.
The man we call Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has a past filled with women and life-threatening circumstances. He lives every day like it's his last and navigates through it with precision like a deadly knife.


He's fast and he's cool. He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em, A pity if it grieves 'em. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
He is quick and calm under pressure, and he's part of the group who enjoys brief romances and promptly walks away from them. It's obvious that it hurts them, but Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is no fool.


Oh, damoiselles and danger Have filled the stranger's past. Like the knife he cuts thro' life Like ev'ry day's the last.
Once again, the chorus reminds us that Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has experienced many encounters with women and dangerous situations, and he approaches life like it's his last using his sharpness just like a knife.


He's fast and he's cool. He's from the school that loves and leaves 'em, A pity if it grieves 'em. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's not a fool.
In this repetition, we are assured once more that Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is quick and collected, a part of that crowd that enjoys fleeting romances and leaves sorrow in their wake. However, it isn't foolish behavior on his part.


No, he's no fool. He's no fool. He is no fool.
The song ends by strongly emphasizing the fact that Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is, in fact, not foolish in any way.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN BARRY, LESLIE BRICUSSE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@tonys9923

The most UNDER USED Bond music.

John Barry was in the top three film composers ever in my opinion.

John Williams of course, then choose from 4 or 5 other greats, Bernard Hermann, Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith, Morricone, Maurice Jarre.

My personal favourite is Barry though.

Just made the film scene exciting with the music, you didn't even need to see the screen.

No one of his calibre still left except for John Williams.

Once he's gone who carry's the flame??



All comments from YouTube:

@Wowmusicable

A great song! They could have used this as the end credits music and kept the Thunderball as the opening song. This way we could have gotten both! 😊

@deecee784

Your comment shows that sometimes amateurs have more smarts than the professionals.

@al007italia

@@deecee784 Not that simple. Shirley Bassey has originally recorded this for the opening credits. But Bassey's version was too short & she wsn't available to record a longer version. So they got Dionne Warwick to do this version. Then they decided to use Warwick's version for the end titles. Shirley Bassey then sued so neither version was used.

@PJ-dh7gn

What a bitch. So everybody loses especially Dionne.

@MickeyLeeBukowski

End titles in old movies were about 30 seconds long though!

@robrob8258

A few James Bond films have better end credit songs

3 More Replies...

@johncole2469

I have listened to this (Dionne Warwick) and the Shirley Bassey versions.

Overall this IMHO is the best of the two.

@PJ-dh7gn

I second that opinion. Since Sony owns the rights to all the UA Bond films, they should substitute this song for the opening song on Never Say Never. Worst 007 title EVER!!!!

@jackevans3480

Definitely. Shirl is always hard to beat but, in this case, Dionne wins hands down. Magnificent.

@tonys9923

I think both are great singers and I am a BIGGER fan of Dionne Warwick than Shirley Bassey, however I think Shirley Bassey's voice was more suited to the Bond image.

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