Trigger Bang
by Lily Allen (featuring Giggs)

Album: No Shame (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Lily Allen's first single since her 2014 Sheezus album finds her reminiscing about growing up "attracted to danger."

    When I was young I was blameless, playing with rude boys and trainers
    I had a foot in the rave cause I was attracted to danger, I never got home for Neighbours


    During the chorus Allen addresses cutting out the sort of toxic people that she used to mix with:

    That's why I can't hang with the cool gang
    Everyone's a trigger bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
  • The song starts off with a verse by London rapper Giggs, who is a longterm fan of Lily Allen. She recalled her first encounter with the London rapper during an interview with i-D.

    "We met properly at V Festival in '14. Someone knocked on my portakabin dressing room door and said that a rapper named Giggs was hanging around and asking to meet me. Of course I obliged. We got the introductions and formalities done and took some obligatory pics for the 'gram, which I had assumed was the real reason for his visit. And then he laid into me slightly.

    'I came all this way to see you, you didn't even play my tunes. What about all the first album stuff? That was my album, still'. He ran off a few song titles from my debut Alright, Still, songs that he'd wanted to hear me play, and that I hadn't."
  • The song's tropical beat is courtesy of London producer Fryers, who was first discovered by Mika and co-penned with him three tracks for his 2012 The Origin of Love album - "Celebrate," "Make You Happy" and "Lola". Fryars also contributed to Lily Allen's Sheezus set.
  • Asked by Billboard what inspired the song, Lily Allen replied:

    "It's half about [my partying days] and half about people themselves being a trigger - because of breaking up with my husband, and also I had a stalker. I was in a dark place; I didn't really have anything else to talk about except for my own s--t, and I didn't want to bother [my friends and family. I felt forced] to act like nothing was wrong, and that was the issue, because there was a lot wrong. I had to confront it. Having trivial conversations about things that are quite intense and deep - that in itself is triggering for me."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he Inspired

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he InspiredSong Writing

Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.

Cy Curnin of The Fixx

Cy Curnin of The FixxSongwriter Interviews

The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Michelle Branch

Michelle BranchSongwriter Interviews

Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.