If you’ve had a good time on TikTok for the past two years, you’ve probably seen the “fuck ya life, bing bong” video clip. Different people have adopted the “bing bong, fuck ya life” anthem and made videos of themselves emulating the original soundbite.

The TikTok soundbite starts with a man shouting, “fuck ya life, bing bong,” and has so far garnered millions of views. While in the first week, people wondered about the source of the inescapable trend, it was clear that the accent in the clip was from New York.

To get the whole story, we conducted thorough research and discovered some interesting findings discussed below.

What is Bing Bong?

The two words are the bone of contention for most people as other words used in the phrase are explicit. The popular video’s context makes it even harder to understand why people suddenly go “bing bong” at the beginning, middle, or end of their statement. No one taught us such a vocabulary in school, but it really seems to carry some weight, especially in the streets of New York. Is it profanity? Not really.

Bing bong is a popular sound you’ve probably heard when you board the MTA trains. These trains usually produce the sound to alert passengers to keep off the closing doors. So, you can use the phrase “bing bong” as a warning about impending danger, something about to start or leave, or against anyone trying to argue with you.

Why Is Everyone Saying Bing Bong?

Everyone is obsessed with the “bing bong” from the popular Sidetalk show. At the time, two New York University students, Jack Byrne and Trent Simonian were running a street show dubbed “Sidetalk” across New York streets. The two students went on a spree interviewing locals and tourists from Coney Island to Times Square on varying topics like lifestyle and politics.

Although each of the Sidetalk’s shows started with the bing bong sound, it was until April 2021 show that the noise took center stage. Before this date, Simonians had solely hosted all the episodes but started to incorporate guest hosts after a few episodes. One notable figure was rapper Nems, popularly referred to as the Mayor of Coney Island, who articulated the noise in the episode mentioned above.

No sooner had the episode run on air than the “bing bong” became everyone’s catchphrase and the inspiration for the uncountable TikTok videos. Subsequent “Sidetalk” episodes fueled the TikTok trend with the notable ones including the “fuck ta life” guy who shows the middle finger aboard a minivan, Mr. Hard Hat, and TJ.

Mr. Hard Hat’s famous quote: Ariana Grande, what’s up mama, come to Coney Island and take a spin on the Cyclone; I miss you.”

Nems: What do you wanna tell “Joe Byron?” (Referring to President Joe Biden) right now?

TJ: Wassup baby, take me out to dinner.

Bing Bong Song Lyrics

Before Bing Bong Fuck Ya Life became a TikTok sensation, the Sidetalk show held an episode outside Madison Square Garden during the Knicks season opener. The thrilling fans related so well with the show’s crew, and an enormous “Bing Bong” phrase would appear on jumbotrons when the Knicks were playing. However, this largely remained within New York.

The first time the “fuck ya life bing bong” phrase landed on TikTok, it was uploaded by a user named @yvngwxrld and quickly garnered views that currently surpass 20 million. More than 100,000 users have uploaded the original soundbite on their TikTok profiles. However, the “bing bong fuck ya life” soundbite went mega-viral when a star-studded TikTok video emerged featuring Lil Nas X, Normani, Olivia Rodrigo, and others.

The lyrics go something like this;

Fuck ya life, bing bong!

If you see these dogs in your front yard, Just know upstairs, I’m going hard, Bing Bong.

What do you wanna tell “Joe Byron?” (Referring to President Joe Biden) right now?

Wassup baby, take me out to dinner.

Hey Yo!

Other Bing Bong Applications

From the TikTok craze, “Bing Bong” was suddenly everywhere. For example, the Jonas Brothers recreated the viral TikTok as part of a Covid vaccination campaign. Essentially, Nick, Kevin, and Joe visited the White House and used snippets from the Sidetalk show. What’s more, their final video includes a cameo from the president himself.

Sidetalk’s signature sound, “fuck ya Life Bing Bong,” has also inspired Laa Lee and Cristale’s music named “Bong Bing.” Notably, the music starts with the TikTok lyrics highlighted above but continues to use the phrase Bing Bong, in its hook. Besides, most of the lyrics throughout Cristale’s Bong Bing song rhyme to the sound.

Bing Bong Fuck Ya Life Controversy

Much of the controversy behind the bing bong TikTok lyrics and the Sidetalk show surrounds the disregard for the street content creators who contributed to the video’s trend. It was noted that some characters in the videos, like TJ, struggled in life and lived in dilapidated conditions, yet they had become a global sensation.

A renowned author, Kate Lindsay, wrote a newsletter seeking a way to compensate the viral creators instead of benefiting the rich celebrities running the shows. A GoFundMe project was created for TJ and surpassed its goal. In other words, the fuck ya life bing bong craze came with all the good things for sportsmen, content creators, the government, the homeless, etc.