“Yankee Rose” by David Lee Roth
The Statue of Liberty, which is perhaps the most-recognizable symbol of the ideologies America was built on outside of the American flag itself, was officially unveiled in 1886. That means that in 1986, the year this song (“Yankee Rose”) was dropped, people were celebrating the structure’s centennial anniversary.
Amongst those who joined the occasion, in his own special way, was David Lee Roth.
And what we mean by that is he proceeded, in these lyrics, to personify Lady Liberty as one “Yankee Rose”. If a listener doesn’t have foreknowledge that he’s referring to the Statue of Liberty, that fact could get lost along the way. But for those in the know, there are ample indications that David is speaking to American freedoms as opposed to an actual person. For instance, there are lines in this song derived from The Star-Spangled Banner, i.e. the US national anthem, as well as “America the Beautiful“, the similarly-natured classic that Ray Charles came out with during the 1970s.
It can also be said, with the mentioned of “city lights” and all, that Roth is paying tribute to New York City, where the Statue of Liberty is situated.
It has also been put forth that this song has a sexual undertone. This can be found especially during the early goings of the song. Here, “Yankee Rose” is depicted as being “beautiful”, “wild” and someone whom the “back room boys salute when her flag unfurls”.
In Conclusion
It’s pretty clear that Lee Roth is a patriot. Being a popular musician, he wanted to use to the aforementioned centennial to represent on behalf of his homeland. But at the same time, instead of going mainstream, he stayed true to his image of being a hard-rock bad boy.
David Lee Roth
Roth is a singer from Indiana who is considered to be a rock legend. He attained this status in part due to his association with Van Halen (i.e. being the group’s longest-tenured lead singer). It wasn’t until earlier in 2022, at the age of 67, that Roth finally got around to retiring. And during the years he was not involved in Van Halen, he did drop a few albums of his own.
Roth’s first studio album, “Eat ‘Em and Smile”, was his most-successful, and this track (“Yankee Rose”) was released as part of that project on 7 July 1986.
“Yankee Rose”
This song was also issued, via Warner Bros., as a single and did prove to be one of Roth’s better-performing tunes. It peaked at number 10 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and at number 16 on the Hot 100.
It has been noted that the music video to this track does not have anything to do with the Statue of Liberty itself. The video was directed by Roth alongside Pete Angelus (who also appears in the clip),
The writers of this song are Roth and Steve Vai. The latter also served as the guitarist on “Eat ‘Em and Smile”. The producer of the track is Ted Templeman.
This song makes an appearance on one of the radio stations featured on “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” (2002).
The Statue of Liberty
Situated on Liberty Island, in New York City, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French to the United States to signify US independence. It was designed by the famed French sculptor Frederic A. Bartholdi. The construction of its metal framework was made possible by the famous Gustave Eiffel. It was officially unveiled on the 28th of October, 1886.
By 1982, it had been announced that the statue needed considerable restoration. A more careful study revealed that its right arm was not properly attached to the main structure, causing it to sway harder whenever strong winds blew.
The head of the statue was also noted to have been installed 2 feet away from the center, while one ray had worn a hole in its right arm. At least two percent of the statue’s exterior plates needed to be replaced. Furthermore, the armature had been badly corroded.
President Ronald Reagan in May 1982 announced that the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Centennial Commission had been formed to raise funds for the renovations. After raising over $350 million in donations, the statue was closed to the public in 1984 for renovations to begin. New copper skins were added, and the original torch replaced with a 24-karat gold flame in 1986.
The entire armature was also replaced and lighting, both for day-time and night-time was improved on. A newly installed modern elevator allowed handicapped access to the observation area, while a new set of monumental bronze doors sealed the renovation.
