Spies Like Us (song)

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"Spies Like Us"

Single by Paul McCartney
Released	1985
Format	single
Recorded	1985
Genre	Pop/Rock
Length	????
Label	Parlophone/EMI
Paul McCartney singles chronology
We All Stand Together (Single) (1984)	Spies Like Us (EP) (1986)	Press (1986)

"Spies Like Us" is a 1985 song to the title of the 1985 Warner Bros. motion picture of the same name, starring Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon (see Spies Like Us (film)). It was written and recorded by Paul McCartney, and was a top ten hit in the US in late-1985, making it McCartney's final top ten hit in the US.

The single is noted for its double entendre lyrics ("Hey don't be afraid / Of an undercover aid") equating being a spy with a love affair. The minute-long outro, which turns the tempo up a notch and features Linda singing "spies like us" over and over and Paul ad-libbing his trade-mark rock'n roll hollars, is a highlight of the song. So much so that when Spies Like Us hit the theaters, producers opted to play the outro first in the closing credits before playing the entire song.

Critics derided the song for its trite lyrics, purists for the supposed "sell-out" nature of the song so directly tied to a movie (it didn't seem to bother them on "Live and Let Die"). In reality, it is probably no more or less rabidly commercial than other movies themes of the day such as Duran Duran's bond theme "A View To a Kill".