where did they get “yippikayey” from?
It was a catchphrase used by Roy Rogers. John McClane uses ‘Roy Rogers’ as his pseudonym during the movie, so it fits…
ok!
you are surely a fighter of ignorance
Next logical question would then be - where did Mr Rogers get the phrase from?
Old cowboy songs. “Yippee ti yi yo, git along little dogies/it’s your misfortune and none of my own/yippeei ti yi yay, git along little dogies/you know that Wyoming will be your new home.”
Some people–Marty Robbins–sang “Whoopee” instead of “Yippee” but the Sons of the Pioneers said “Yippee.” Sons of the Pioneers was a group founded by Leonard Slye, better known as Roy Rogers.
“Dogies” are cows.
I was going to say ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’ but a check of the lyrics has the line as “Yippee-yi-ya, yippee-yi-yo” (full lyrics - music)
The old cowboy song “The Old Chisolm Trail” also has a chorus of “Come a kiyi-yippie-yippie-yay-yippie-yay…” Repeat as needed.
My dad heard a parody of this song and he could only remember one line of it:
“Gonna tie my dick to a tree, to a tree, come-a-kiyi-yippie-yippie-yay-yippie-yay…”
He could never come up with the rest of the song to my immense frustration. I don’t suppose it’s familiar to any Dopers out there? It would answer a great mystery from my childhood.
Here’s a spooky cool slow cover of the song and she sings “Ki-Yay, Yippy-Aye-Yo.” Love the sound effects, this sounds great on headphones!
It’s from the comedy song “I’m An Old Cowhand From The Rio Grande”, written by Johnny Mercer in 1936 for a movie with Bing Crosby. Roy Rogers did a cover of it later on. In part:
I’m an old cowhand from the Rio Grande
But my legs ain’t bowed and my cheeks ain’t tan
I’m a cowboy who never saw a cow
Never roped a steer cause I don’t know how
Sure ain’t a fixin to start in now
Yippie yi yo kayah (pronounced ‘ky-ay’)
This?
“First Time I Seen Her”
First time I seen her sitting on a hill
Waving her tits at Buffalo Bill
Gonna tie my pecker to a tree, to a tree
Gonna tie my pecker to tree
Oh, second time I seen her, sitting on a log
Trying to get it on with an old bullfrog
Gonna tie my pecker to a tree, to a tree
Gonna tie my pecker to a tree!
I thought Roy Rogers’ tagline was Gabba gabba hey! 
No, that was Roy Ramone.
That’s got to be it, since I don’t guess there can be many songs like this one. Thanks! Are there more verses, or are you supposed to make them up as you go along to impress your friends?
Man, there’s nothing that you can’t learn from Dopers!