No Time To Die

Billie Eilish is just the latest example of why it has become increasingly impossible to answer the age-old question, “What type of music do you like?” Every time I felt I narrowed it down to the adult alternative or singer/songwriter “category,” along came Amy Winehouse, Adele, Rascal Flatts, The Fugees, Katy Perry and countless others. Eilish is the latest. So maybe it’s okay not to be pigeonholed into one specific genre. I just like music.

And I like this song. It might not make the playlist when I’m hanging out with my friends trying to have a good time, but that’s okay too.
Breakups are relatable. The unraveling that’s apparent in ‘No Time to Die” might not be, but that’s what makes it so addicting to listen to. She takes us inside her tailspin and, despite the title, leaves it open-ended by asking him, “are you death or paradise?”

This song feels like the symbiotic accompaniment to the modern Bond franchise: mysterious, alluring, fearfully sad but with a touch of redemption. I might not see the movie, but they hit the nail on the head by featuring Billie on the soundtrack.

Everyone’s favorite 18-year-old pop star just released the theme song to the new James Bond film entitled “No Time to Die”. The song is a haunting gem that contains lyrics that seem to mourn the loss of a powerful relationship that was ultimately never meant to be and the process of moving on from that broken bond. Billie Eilish is now the youngest entertainer to perform the theme song to the legendary movie franchise.

The song begins with the line, “I should have known I’d leave alone” in order to paint the picture of a person reflecting on a broken relationship with the retrospective knowledge that she had fallen for a lie. The song goes on to express this theme of missing warning signs and expressing regret over the time lost. Then the chorus begins and she wonders if everyone else knew before she knew that she was simply going through the motions with this person. This is the general description of a person processing a breakup and beginning to question everything about the failed union.

As the song progresses, there is a shift in both tone and lyrical content. The second verse begins with a more confident Billie singing, “I let it burn/You’re no longer my concern”. This marks the point after a break up where she has come to terms with the end despite the fact that she is aware of the lack of trust between her and the other person. The music of the song also become a bit more progressive, further signaling a shift in perspective. The song is heavy with emotional content and truly shows the vocal control this young singer has. It is also important to highlight the fact that “No Time to Die” was written by Billie along with her producer brother, Finneas.

"Fool me once, fools me twice. Are you death or paradise?"

For me it actually looks like a person who could change your entire life. Like some kind of a crossroad on which can you stumble upon.

Either you head to paradise (the good person) and think you'll live happily everafter without any concern. Or you're heading towards 'death' (the lesser person, which also makes you feels good, but you're not sure about ), a life that's going down hill and end upon a miserable life you not intended to take, but was led to due to choices you've took which you thought were right

For me, this song is about the ending of a toxic relationship, and the confusion and pain that follows.

“No Time to Die” just Killed Me.

The next Bond film coming out is Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as the most famous spy. It shares its title with Billie Eilish’s offering for the theme song “No Time to Die.” Though the basics are known about the film with the trailer that dropped in December, the theme song was just released.

Multi-grammy winner Billie Eilish co-wrote the song with her brother and main collaborator Finneas and lent her soulful and haunting voice to the lyrics. If the combination of Billie Eilish and James Bond has you scratching your head, you are not alone. Many people were having a hard time understanding the pairing - then Eilish dropped the song.

As the song opens and the typical gentle musical intro leads into Eilish’s opening, “I should have known/I’d leave alone/Just goes to show/That the blood you bleed is just the blood you own” 007, shaken martinis and the ultimate ladies man are not the things that pop into your head. In Eilish’s genius way though, she leads you there. Fans of the movie series will hear familiar strands of music underlying with the rest of the song, kicking in as the chorus plays “That I’d fallen for a lie/You were never on my side/Fool me once/Fool me twice/Are you death or paradise?/Now you’ll never see me cry/There’s just no time to die.”

As the song plays, it encompasses everything Eilish is known for - beautiful composition and lyrics, gut-wrenching emotion and a melody that will stay with you long after the music stops playing. Where it truly hits you that Eilish is singing for the heart of an older and exhausted retired MI6 agent is in the second verse “I let it burn/You're no longer my concern, mmm/Faces from my past return/Another lesson yet to learn.” Yes - I imagine that a man who has faced down every enemy you can imagine, lost loved ones, given up his entire everything to make the world a better place would be emotionally spent.

Anyone who has ever felt the pressing in of loneliness as they simply try to live will have found their own personal theme song upon listening to “No Time to Die.” Not only do the words nail how isolation feels, but the melody weaving together with a slowed-down version of the well-known Bond chimes is also truly on of the most haunting and revealing pieces of music released in a long time. You can feel this song in your bones, not just hear the words.

The song can take you to places you didn’t even know you could go when listening to a James Bond theme song. Instead of imagining death-defying stunts, eye-popping effects and beautiful people in bathing suits, you truly feel the loneliness of this man for the first time. The only thing he knows is sacrifice, living alone. The past haunts him and no other song can make you feel it the way this one does. Every past person, every past mistake, each one is with him every day.

With her ability to reach into you and pull out all the feels, Billie Eilish “No Time to Die” does so about one of the most enduring fictional characters ever created. It is clear with this theme song, the Bond franchise will never be the same - and neither will anyone who truly listens to, not just hears, this song.