Damn Yankees [Damn Yankees, featuring Tommy Shaw]

Damn Yankees
Written by Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, Ted Nugent
Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw and Ted Nugent

Hey brother
Ready for another
Dose of my Yankee Pride
In the jungle
Ya just might stumble
Onto something that you never tried

Got that right

There was trouble in the east
Worry in the west
Till the wall came tumblin' down
Shift in the sand
Rockets to the madman
Haven't heard a sound

You don't have to worry
Help is on the way
We don't need no "thank you, ma'am"
We know what they're gonna say

(They say) Hey, hey, Damn Yankee
Whoa, oh, oh, Damn Yankee

(How we doin')

Now I say what I want
And I do what I want
And I go where I want to go
Ain't no strong man
Safe from the hang man
Baby, now, don't ya know

If you need assistance
I'll be on the way
Run into a little resistance
Ya know what they're gonna say

(They say) Hey, hey, Damn Yankee
Whoa, oh, oh, Damn Yankee
Hey, hey, Damn Yankee

[guitar solo]

They landed at Plymouth Rock
The kids was ready to roll
Greasy dictator down south of us
Lost all control
He didn't have time to see me
He didn't have time to thank me
Suck on the barrel of my hot shotgun
Smile when you say "Damn Yankee"

Hey, hey, Damn Yankee
Whoa, oh, oh, Damn Yankee
Hey, hey, Damn Yankee
Whoa, oh, oh, Damn Yankee

Damn Yankee
Damn Yankee

Interpretation

This song was released on the first album in February 1990, six months before Sadaam Hussein's Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, leading to the first Gulf War, but it captured the spirit in which the American people took up arms to liberate Kuwait.

More recent conflicts at the time the song was written were:

1. The invasion of Panama in December 1989 to depose general Manuel Noriega, wanted in the U.S. for racketeering and drug trafficking.
2. Intervention in the Tanker War in 1986 that included a confrontation with Iran.
3. Invasion of Grenada in 1983 at the request of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States after the overthrow of the government, triggering fears of a repeat of the Iran Hostage Crisis.

The United States has (for better or worse) served as the world's policeman off an on through her history. While usually in an enlightened self interest, it is a source of pride for many, whether it's intervening in the jungles of Southeast Asia or Central America or taking to the sands of the Middle East.

Plymouth Rock is a reference to where they Mayflower Pilgrims landed in 1620. While not the first settlers from Europe to the New World, they are perhaps the most celebrated among American children and in schools. The "greasy dictator down south of us (that) lost all control" is most likely a reference to general Noriega.