Her career peaked in the late 1960s with a string of pop music hits. Her best-known hit, These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - which popularized and made her synonymous with Go-Go boots - was written by Lee Hazlewood. These Boots... has been covered by many artists such as Geri Halliwell, Megadeth, Jessica Simpson, Lil' Kim, Little Birdy, Billy Ray Cyrus, Crispin Hellion Glover and KMFDM.
Nancy also co-starred in a number of films, including Roger Corman's The Wild Angels with Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern, and Speedway with Elvis Presley, made guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and starred in a number of television specials, most notable among them the 1967 Emmy Award-winning special "Movin' with Nancy", in which she appeared with her father and his Rat Pack pals Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.. In the 1970s, she slowed down her musical activity and ceased acting in order to concentrate on being a wife and mother. She returned to the studio in 1981 to record a country album with Mel Tillis called, Mel & Nancy.
At the age of 54, she posed for Playboy in their May 1995 issue, released a new CD, One More Time, and made guest appearances on TV shows to promote the new material.
Most Recently, the song Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (originally recorded by Cher) was used on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's hit Kill Bill.
On July 28, 2006, for the film Another Gay Movie (2006), she released the song "Another Gay Sunshine Day" from the Another Gay Movie Soundtrack.
The Hungry Years
Nancy Sinatra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We went so high we couldn't stop
We climbed the ladder leading us nowhere
Two of us together
Building castles in the air
We spun so fast we couldn't tell
The gold ring from the carousel
Everything we wanted
Was everything we had
I miss the hungry years
The once upon a time
The lovely long ago
We didn't have a dime
Those days of me and you
We lost along the way
How could I be so blind
Not to see the door
Closing on the world
I now hunger for
Looking through my tears
I miss the hungry years
We shared our daydreams one by one
Making plans was so much fun
We set our goals and reached the highest star
The things that we were after
Were much better from afar
Here we stand just me and you
With everything and nothing, too
It wasn't worth the price we had to pay
Honey take me home
Let's go back to yesterday
I miss the hungry years
The once upon a time
The lovely long ago
We didn't have a dime
Those days of me and you
We lost along the way
How could I be so blind
Not to see the door
Closing on the world
I know hunger for
Looking through my tears
I miss the hungry years
I miss the hungry years
The lyrics of Nancy Sinatra's song The Hungry Years describe the evolution of a love story. The song tells the story of two people who went from nothing to achieving success together. They climbed the ladder so high that they couldn't turn back. But with success, they lost sight of the important things, straining their relationship. They reminisce about the early days when they were broke but happy and had nothing but each other, and their shared dreams to make it to the top.
The song's overall theme is about the things that truly matter in life - love and relationships - and how they can easily get lost in the pursuit of success. Throughout the song, the singer demonstrates regret for neglecting the beauty of life once lived before they made it to the top. The song highlights the dangers of ambition, power and popularity which can become an obsession and compromise what truly matters.
Line by Line Meaning
Girl we made it to the top
We succeeded in achieving our goals
We went so high we couldn't stop
We achieved a level of success beyond our expectations
We climbed the ladder leading us nowhere
We pursued success without a clear sense of direction
Two of us together
We worked as a team to achieve success
Building castles in the air
Our success was built on unrealistic dreams and goals
We spun so fast we couldn't tell
Our success was overwhelming and disorienting
The gold ring from the carousel
We mistook temporary success for lasting achievement
How could we know the ride would turn out bad
We were unaware of the negative consequences of our pursuit of success
Everything we wanted
Our goals and dreams
Was everything we had
Our success was all we had to show for our efforts
I miss the hungry years
I miss the time when we were striving for success
The once upon a time
The time when we were full of hope and ambition
The lovely long ago
The time when our dreams seemed within reach
We didn't have a dime
We had no money or material possessions
Those days of me and you
The time when we were united in our pursuit of success
We lost along the way
We became disconnected from each other as we pursued our individual goals
How could I be so blind
I failed to see the negative consequences of our pursuit of success
Not to see the door
I failed to see the end of our success
Closing on the world
The end of our success
I now hunger for
I now desire
Looking through my tears
Feeling regretful and sad
The things that we were after
The goals we pursued
Were much better from afar
Our goals seemed more desirable from a distance
Here we stand
We are now in the present
Just me and you
We are now alone, without the distraction of success
With everything and nothing, too
We have achieved success but feel unfulfilled
It wasn't worth the price we had to pay
Our pursuit of success came at a high cost
Honey take me home
Let's return to a simpler, more fulfilling time
Let's go back to yesterday
Let's return to the past, when we were united in our pursuit of success
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind