"Bang Bang Lulu" is a traditional American song with many variations. It derives from older songs most commonly known as "Bang Bang Rosie" in Ireland, "Bang Away Lulu" in Appalachia, and "My Lula Gal" in the West. The form "Bang Bang Lulu" became widespread in the United States from its use as a cadence during the World Wars. The song uses the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies".
All versions concern a woman and her various lovers. The early forms were sometimes very directly crude, violent, or infanticidal. Published versions probably drastically understate the song's popularity, particularly since the first mentions allude to 78 or 900 additional verses unfit for printing. Robert Gordon, the first head of the Library of Congress's Archive of American Folk Song, included his variants of Lulu among the "Inferno" section which was excluded from the library's general collection for its "bawdy and scatological subject matter".
One verse appeared in Owen Wister's 1902 novel on p. 96 The Virginian:
The Cisco Kid sings a smattering of "Bang Bang Lulu" in O. Henry's 1907 story "The Caballero Way.
Nine appeared in Carl Sandburg's 1927 American Songbag among its "Railroad and Work Gangs" songs, including Wister's and:
Sandburg credited many of the verses he knew as derived from the 17th-century Scotch song "Way Up on Clinch Mountain", now usually known as "Rye Whiskey".
Roy Acuff and his Crazy Tennesseans recorded "When Lulu's Gone" under the pseudonym of the Bang Boys in 1936. Another version—"Lulu"—was recorded by Oscar Brand on his 1958 Old Time Bawdy Sea Shanties. Verses from this song also developed into "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms", recorded by Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs and many others after them.
Most military cadences suggested explicit rhymes but skipped back to the chorus rather than complete them:
...Lulu has an uncle (whoa)<br> Her uncle's name is Chuck<br> Every time he's at her house<br> She'd always want to<br> Bang bang Lulu<br> Lulu has gone away<br> Bang bang Lulu<br> Lulu is here to stay...
...Lulu had a chicken<br> She also had a duck<br> She put them on the table<br> To see if they would<br> Bang away on Lulu<br> Bang away all day<br> Who you gonna bang on<br> When Lulu's gone away?...
...Lulu has two boyfriends<br> Both of them are rich <br> One's the son of a banker<br> The others a son of a
Bang bang Lulu<br> Lulu's gone away<br> Who's gonna bang bang Lulu<br /> while Lulu's gone away?
...Lulu has a bicycle(whoa)<br> the seat's on back to front <br> Every time she sits on it<br> It goes right up her
Bang bang Lulu<br> Lulu's gone away<br> Who's gonna bang bang Lulu<br /> while Lulu's gone away?
A Calypso version of the military cadences was recorded by The Merrymen on their 1967 album Sing And Swing With The Merrymen. From there, the song was recorded by early Ska musicians like Lloyd Charmers in the 1970s and then later covered by various pop artists including Goombay Dance Band and Boney M.
The Skadows from England released a version of the song that featured on their debutalbum Ska'd for life (1982)
Bang Bang Lulu were also a Ska and Soul revival band in the UK. They formed in 2005 and released the album Ska Wars.
A Boeing B-17G-100-BO 43-38905 of the 708th Bomb Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group (H) was named "Bang Bang Lulu" based at Rattlesden, Suffolk, U.K.
"Bang Bang Lulu" was a 1986 single by the German band Boney M. It was taken from their final album, the 1985 Eye Dance. The single failed to chart, and the group—having disbanded after their 10th anniversary—didn't promote it. It was originally intended for Liz Mitchell to sing, but she found the lyrics vulgar and refused to do it. Instead, Reggie Tsiboe did the lead vocals, backed by session singers Amy and Elaine Goff.