Boom Bang Bang Lyrics
Tertulio Searcy
The song is first heard when Lucious, in an attempt to sway Hakeem over, gives him the song to keep, with no strings attached. However, Hakeem, who is aware of his father's deceitful ways and that there are strings attached - or rather, ropes - rejects the song. Lucious then invites Freda Gatz and plays the beat for her, and together the two manage to create the hook & chorus of the song. The song is also played in the background as Cookie Lyon, wanting to forget the events of her tiresome week, goes to Laz's house and starts a passionate affair with him, oblivious that he has a goat horn tattoo on the back; the same tattoo's that Big Heavy and his boys (the ones who jacked Tiana & kidnapped Hakeem) have.
The episode begins with Lucious and Freda recording the song at Empire's studio. However, Freda, wrought with the pain over her father's death, is unable to finish the song. Lucious then tells her that she needs to put the pain in the music, and adds that he will be performing the song for Huey Jarvis, a musical legend, for one of his Living Room sessions. This motivates Freda to finish her verse, to which Lucious congratulates her.
Lucious then goes to Huey Jarvis' house and plays the song for him, but Huey tells him that it's not finished - he wants to hear the part of Lucious that he keeps locked tight, and for that he tells Lucious that he must dig deeper. Taking Huey's advice to heart, Lucious goes to one of his recording studios and attempts to perfect the song, strumming on the sitar. However, he is unable to finish it, as every time he tries to dig deeper he experiences flashback of his mother.
Later on that week, as Lucious is about to engage in a threesome with Mimi, he sees a tattoo of a revolver on the upper thigh of the woman whom he and Mimi were going to have sex with. He quickly leaves the room and retrieves a box, the contents of which are a revolver - the same revolver his mother Leah had used to kill herself. In the flashback, it is revealed that his mother had put one bullet in the six round chamber and said "Boom" every time she clicked the trigger, until it ended with a bang, when his mother killed herself; thus revealing that the song's name and hook (Boom Boom Boom Boom, Bang Bang Bang Bang) derive from that moment of childhood trauma.
Lucious then takes the revolver and heads over to Empire at 4am, and has Freda brought in. Using the revolver to make rhythmic clicks, he and Freda both add a new verse each to the song, finally managing to finish it to Lucious' perfection.
[Verse 1 - Lucious Lyon:]From the bottom I got up, to the top of the pro'sFrom the gutter to the shutter, trimmed out in goldLife bless my soul, God bless my moldNothing less than the best, so the rest is oldDon't wanna play chess, wanna lock and loadWanna tag some toes, wanna send you homeIt ain't about the painTell 'em what's my name
[Verse 2 - Freda Gatz:]LookFrom the bottom I started, so it's nothing that you can say to meA product of where I grew up, and it's the newest slaveryPeople see you trying hard, like why you wanna play with meI bring them heaters out, somebody better pray for meCause all I know is this money, I gotta have itThese suicidal thoughts getting bad, I'm getting madderUh, they say the good die young, I put the peddle to the medal hit the gas then I'm goneNow I'm front line at the court, and I'm 'bout to take a shotI pull it up, cock it back, let it flyNow I'm watching for the back boardAnd when they say the world is yours, I just let them knowThat I'm just trynna score
[Verse 3 - Freda & Lucious:]If you ever been through it, then I'm knowing you gotta feel itYou witnessing the struggle from the realest, what the deal isThey trynna lock me down, but they created a monsterI'm beating down your block, and nobody can't stop us(You was over there talking all kinds of toughWhile you sipping on your little bit of "pick me up"When you say you like to play a little fistacuffSo when the whistle puffs, I'm gonna call your bluff)Words from a wise man, never let 'em see you handIn the end, I bet they all gon' understandYou can't stop what you can't see, standing here is only meSo place your bet and gone prepare for your defeat(I caught a new jack, it said kid guard ya checkThere's a brother over there, that wanna bounce your neckAin't you 'fraid of that, watch you fade to black)
Boom Bang-a-Bang was the United Kingdom's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. It was sung by Lulu, and was co-written by Alan Moorhouse and Peter Warne. It was the joint winner with three other entries. These entries were Salom singing Vivo Cantando for Spain, Lenny Kuhr singing De Troubadour for the Netherlands and Frida Boccara singing Un jour, un enfant for France.
The song was the second consecutive entry with a nonsense title to win the contest (after Massiel's win for Spain in 1968 with La, La, La), and became infamous in the comedy world - most notably inspiring Monty Python's Flying Circus to parody it with "Bing Tiddle-Tiddle Bong" (Python precursor I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again had previously had Bill Oddie do something similar with a song for which the title was rendered entirely in sound effects).
Lyrically, the song is a plea from the singer to her lover to "cuddle me tight". She then goes on to explain that "my heart goes boom bang-a-bang, boom bang-a-bang when you are near", complete with appropriate musical accompaniment. The single made No.2 in the UK Singles Chart and was a major hit throughout Europe. At the end of her live performance, she shouted "Ol!" on the final 2 beats of the music in honor of the contest's Spanish hosts
The song "Crash! Boom! Bang!" by Roxette delves into the emotional turmoil of experiencing repeated failures in love. The lyrics convey a sense of frustration and resignation that comes with the cyclical nature of falling in love and facing heartbreak. The protagonist is advised by their parents to be cautious in love and to avoid unnecessary sorrow, yet they find themselves unable to heed this advice, continually breaking the rules and engaging with the pain of love.
The chorus, with its onomatopoeic words 'Crash, boom, bang,' symbolizes the sudden and explosive end to the protagonist's romantic relationships. It's as if each time they find love, they are met with an inevitable downfall that is both loud and destructive. This repetition of heartbreak is likened to a game, one where the rules are known, the outcome is predictable, and the pain remains constant. The imagery of walking down an empty road and passing by familiar places underscores a feeling of loneliness and the haunting presence of past relationships.
The song also touches on the theme of hope and despair. Despite the knowledge of past hurts and the likelihood of future pain, the protagonist still feels the 'heat' and the 'taste of the kissing,' suggesting a yearning for love and intimacy that persists even in the face of repeated disappointments. The 'wild holy war' could be a metaphor for the internal struggle between the desire for love and the defense mechanisms built to protect oneself from further emotional damage.
The Fletcher Memorial Home (Waters)
Take all your overgrown infants away somewhere
And build them a home, a little place of their own.
The Fletcher Memorial
Home for Incurable Tyrants and Kings.
And they can appear to themselves every day
On closed circuit T.V.
To make sure they're still real.
It's the only connection they feel.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Reagan and Haig,
Mr. Begin and friend, Mrs. Thatcher, and Paisly,
"Hello Maggie!"
Mr. Brezhnev and party.
"Scusi dov' il bar?"
The ghost of McCarthy,
The memories of Nixon.
"Who's the bald chap?"
"Good-bye!"
And now, adding colour, a group of anonymous latin-
American meat packing glitterati.
Did they expect us to treat them with any respect?
They can polish their medals and sharpen their
Smiles, and amuse themselves playing games for awhile.
Boom boom, bang bang, lie down you're dead.
Safe in the permanent gaze of a cold glass eye
With their favorite toys
They'll be good girls and boys
In the Fletcher Memorial Home for colonial
Wasters of life and limb.
Is everyone in?
Are you having a nice time?
Now the final solution can be applied.