David Lee Roth Pens Tribute Song To Eddie Van Halen
David Lee Roth has released a new song dedicated to Eddie Van Halen, cheekily titled “Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar and Grill,” a reference to the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles.
Roth posted the song to YouTube and the video features a Roth drawing that says on it, “Hey Ed I’m gonna miss ya. See you on the other side.”
Roth sings in the bittersweet chorus, “Somewhere over the Rainbow Bar and Grill/Never knew me a better time and I guess I never will/Somewhere over the Rainbow Bar and Grill/Some say they was happy then/Me, I’m happy still.”
Roth’s cheeky sense of humor, of course, is present in the song. In the first verse he sings, “In a sleeping bag in front of the fireplace, my girlfriend and me.” But later in the song he sings,”In a sleeping bag in front of the fireplace, your girlfriend and me.”
He concludes, “It’s a damn good story/and there’s still more to tell/Somewhere over the Rainbow Bar and Grill/Some say time ain’t got better, maybe they still will/Yeah, we know all the punchlines, but we still laugh like hell/One thing never changes, still can’t afford the bill.”
Listen to the song below.
Van Halen: Their 30 Best Songs, Ranked