2:42 - Bang Bang

Nancy Sinatra: Bang Bang

[purchase]

This is such a heartbreaking song, about childhood sweethearts who grow up in love, yet she marries someone else when he leaves inexplicably. As each verse goes by, the chorus becomes more and more cruel—at first "Bang bang, you shot me down / Bang bang, I hit the ground" refers to toddlers playing Cowboys & Indians; then a nostalgic conversation between two lovers; and finally the lament of a woman left behind.

And let's talk about that guitar! It's the only instrument in the song, though the track hardly has the feel of a folk tune. The ringing tremelo carries as much of the emotional burden as Sinatra's vocal delivery. The words "bang bang" wouldn't have the same impact without those two low notes from the guitar. Speaking of how to write a great rock song, this track is a lesson of its own—how to write a perfect song with as few elements as possible.