Monday, January 04, 2016

Bang Bang by Jessie J

Scanning 865 channels of DirecTV for New Year's Eve entertainment, I came upon pop singer Jessie J performing her smash hit Bang Bang. "Bang bang into the room/Bang bang all over you," she crooned. What exactly does that mean? 

At first I thought it meant that Jessie J planned to walk into the room and spill something  all over me. Perhaps she wants to throw a glass of champagne in my face. After all, it's New Year's Eve. But this doesn't explain the "bang bang" phrase. 

Another interpretation: she's saying "bang bang" happened and it's all because of me. But I quickly rejected this notion when I heard the next verse: "Bang bang there goes your heart/Bang in the seat of my car." Ah, now I understand. Compelling thoughts. 

As for the use of "Bang Bang" in the song's title, we find ample precedent in earlier works. To name a few:
  • Bang by Nicole Scherzinger: harmless;
  • Bang Bang by Sonny and Cher; seemed dark and disturbed to me as a child; 
  • Bang Shang a Lang by The Archies: simply dreadful; 
  • Boom Bang a Bang by Lulu: the UK entry in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest; and 
  • Bang Bang Burlesque: showgirls performed in the Boom Boom Room in the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach;
Since we've put Boom Boom into the mix, let us not forget:
Bang bang. Boom boom. Now that's entertainment. Happy New Year.

2 comments:

Rondo Hatton said...

I found some further explanation of the lyrics here (despite many typos): http://emptylighthouse.com/pop-lyrics-explained-jessie-js-bang-bang-less-attractive-girls-are-easy-2099635065

And let's not forget Cher and her song "Bang Bang."

Sonny said...

Thanks for visiting castledangerous@blogspot.com. Wow, don't know how I overlooked the Cher tune. Good catch.