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

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. JonesSongwriter Interviews

The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.