"The World Is Not Enough" was composed in the style of the series' title songs, in contrast with the post-modern production and genre-hopping of Garbage's first two albums.

The lyrics reflect the film's plot (told from the viewpoint of antagonist Elektra King), with themes of world domination and seduction.

Arnold and the film's production team wanted an early rough draft of the song so elements of its melody could be incorporated into the main score.

[1] Black, with 30 years of experience writing Bond themes, wrote the lyrics to Tom Jones's "Thunderball", Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever", Lulu's "The Man with the Golden Gun" and k.d.

[5] Arnold and Black met several times to discuss lyrics for "The World Is Not Enough", also collaborating by phone, fax and email.

"[4] Black added that although the lyrics reflected the film's plot, they were "of course all about world domination" and "a lot more personal and intense", evoking a "ballady and dramatic" mood.

[7] Part of the reason I thought Garbage would be such a good idea [for the theme song], is that I think Shirley Manson is someone who could easily inhabit Bond's world.

Arnold's agent then presented the demo to MGM executives in Los Angeles, who initially disliked it because it was a ballad and they expected a more uptempo song.

MGM asked Arnold to rewrite a three-note sequence considered too similar to a motif in earlier Bond themes.

"[8] Manson called herself a fan of the series, "an institution I admire and has always captured my imagination since I was a child", and the films had a "sensibility quite similar to how we approach making music".

"[10] The singer considered Garbage's music and the series' concepts "something that you can enjoy on the surface, but underneath there are lots of conflicting themes you can get into.

Garbage used a portable studio from a number of European cities to record material for Arnold, keeping in touch by phone as he produced the song's string arrangement in London.

When the songwriters were gathering evidence, one posed as an employee of composer James Horner to contact Don Black and solicit his services for Ocean's Eleven.

They recorded their conversation with Black, trying to get him to disclose when he and Arnold composed "The World Is Not Enough", and contacted Shirley Manson in a similar manner.

The court rejected the plaintiffs' claim, concluding that Arnold independently composed "The World Is Not Enough" and it did not share a passage with "This Game We Play".

[1][19] The plaintiffs conceded that Arnold did not have access to "This Game We Play" after journal entries, delivery invoices, telephone and computer records, written declarations from Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and testimony from David Arnold, Don Black, Shirley Manson and Arnold's personal assistant provided "irrefutable evidence" that "The World Is Not Enough" had already been written and was not changed significantly—other than a lyrical alteration (the removal of one line to accommodate Shirley Manson) and an amendment to the score (the removal of the "three-note motif" to accommodate the MGM executives)—from the date that "This Game We Play" was submitted to MGM.

[21] In the video (set in 1964) terrorists build an android replica of Shirley Manson, who can kill her targets with a kiss, on an unnamed Pacific island.

Smiling, the android Manson thrusts its arms in the air; the screen blacks out as the timer reaches zero,[22] and an explosion is heard.

Stölzl (chosen by Garbage) drew up a treatment liked by the band, but MGM and Eon (who commissioned the video) did not consider it "Bond enough".

[8] Stölzl's reworked storyboard featured Manson as an android clone who kills her human counterpart, a concept the band also liked.

[8] He provided a special-effects company with sketches of the android, and a replica was constructed with aircraft and missile parts, tubing, metal and plastic.

[26] Originally planned for introduction a week later,[27] the radio date was moved up when a Los Angeles station broadcast a ripped, low-quality MP3 of the Chilled Out remix circulated on file-sharing networks early.

[28] The single's release coincided with Garbage's return to North America to headline an MTV-sponsored Campus Invasion Tour.

[52][53] Radioactive followed the single with The World Is Not Enough's soundtrack album, featuring "Ice Bandits" and "Only Myself to Blame" (a second David Arnold-Don Black composition, sung by Scott Walker during the end credits).

[67] A documentary by Matt Whitecross titled The Sound of 007 featuring an interview with Garbage premiered on Prime Video the same day.

magazine noted that "Nothing takes a band into the truly immortal like a Bond theme, and Garbage's ever-burgeoning celebrity will be done no harm whatsoever by this appropriately lush and orchestral anthem.

[72] In a Billboard review, Chuck Taylor wrote that Garbage was an inspired choice and the song "rings of international intrigue, with the slinky gait, noir-ish guitar line and grand chorus we have come to expect ... the song's darkly sexy, electronic ambience is wholly in keeping with Garbage's distinctive soundprint.

[73] IGN ranked "The World Is Not Enough" ninth on its list of top 10 James Bond songs, stating, "Shirley Manson's warbling croon is a perfect fit for an opening sequence and her bandmates gel well with Arnold's sweeping symphonics.

"[23] In its review of Absolute Garbage, Pitchfork called the song a "predictable 'Goldfinger' permutation signaling the band's limitless affinity for big-budget theatrics.

[83] In 2002, the song has been covered by Rafet El Roman turkish singer, for his second Album "5 Nr Aşk" as " Yıllar Sonra".