"Yankee Rose" is a song recorded by

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

, featuring the prominent electric guitar of its co-writer, virtuoso

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

. Roth's first single on his 1986 first full-length solo LP ''

Eat 'Em and Smile ''Eat 'Em and Smile'' is the debut studio album by former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, released on July 7, 1986, after his unpredicted successful debut EP '' Crazy from the Heat'' (1985). History After releasing '' Crazy from the Heat'', a ...

'', with lyrical allusions to the American

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

and

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature s ...

, as well as

July 4th Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed ...

, independence, flag unfurling, rocket flare, fire crackers, apple pie, and her torch light, it was recorded as a tribute to the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

, as the statue was completing a major renovation for the 100th anniversary of its dedication in 1886: "coast to coast, sea to shining sea, hey sister, you're the perfect host" "...nothing like her in the whole world" The song was Roth's third Top 20 hit, the first two being covers of "

California Girls "California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album, '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women across the world and a wish ...

" (peak #3) and " Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" (peak #12). "Yankee Rose" peaked at #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It also appears as a radio tune on the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' on the rock station "V-Rock". A cover of the song is the title song for the video game ''

Rumble Roses is a professional wrestling fighting game that was developed by Yuke's and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The game uses the same engine as Yuke's 2003 release '' WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain''. ''Rumble Roses'' was fol ...

'' and ''

Rumble Roses XX is a female professional wrestling fighting game developed by Konami for the Xbox 360 as the sequel to the 2004 PlayStation 2 game ''Rumble Roses''. The game was released by Konami in 2006. ''Rumble Roses XX'' is playable on Xbox One via backwa ...

'' performed by Teresa James.

Music video

Despite the song's topic, there were no visual references to the Statue of Liberty, rather it was a band performance with much sexual innuendo, Bumping and Grinding, as well as Roth rump shaking and even simulating coital insertion and thrusting with his microphone. It featured a comical prologue of a gold-medallion wearing, Indian convenience store clerk and various eccentric customers and their ensuing melodrama, as Bollywood type music plays in the background from his radio. A mismatched newlywed couple arguing about a hotel room; an African American woman in a lei covered-bikini, buying a dozen boxes of breath mints, who passionately rebukes the clerks advances, deriding him as "the last immigrant grocer on Earth"; an obese woman screaming about over the counter laxatives, to which the clerk replies, "Not in ''my'' store you don't!"; a sleazy playboy in a suit (flanked by blondes in bikinis), played by Roth's co-creator

Pete Angelus Pete Angelus is an artist manager who has worked in the music business since 1975. During his career, he has worked with Van Halen, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Slash, Hall & Oates and has managed The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an Amer ...

, and finally, David Lee Roth himself, shirtless, in the same blue and red tribal face paint seen on his LP cover, head feathers & a loin cloth holding a spear, demands "Give me a bottle of anything...and a glazed doughnut...to go," and cuts to the start of the song.

Charts

References

{{David Lee Roth 1986 singles David Lee Roth songs Songs written by David Lee Roth Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman 1986 songs Songs written by Steve Vai Warner Records singles

Music video

Charts

See also

References