The theme tune was performed by Lulu, composed by John Barry - returning to the series after a one film absence (George Martin had scored the preceding film Live and Let Die), and the lyrics to the song were written by Don Black.

Barry considered the theme tune – the only Bond film title track not to chart as a single in either the UK or U.S. – and score to be among the weakest of his contributions to the series: "It's the one I hate most... it just never happened for me.

Some Bond music fans consider Lulu's brassy vocal to be effective in setting the tone for the film's female characters.

The film was also the first to drop the distinctive plucked guitar from the Bond theme heard over the gun barrel sequence - in all subsequent John Barry James Bond scores, this theme would be heard on strings and trumpet.

The popular song "Mindfields" by The Prodigy (released on The Fat of the Land) features a specific part of "Hip's Trip".