# Die Hard: yippikayey motherfucker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827 "2010-06-20T01:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/1 "2010-06-20T01:50:17Z")
where did they get “yippikayey” from? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/2 "2010-06-20T01:52:11Z")
It was a catchphrase used by Roy Rogers. John McClane uses ‘Roy Rogers’ as his pseudonym during the movie, so it fits… ---
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/3 "2010-06-20T01:55:49Z")
ok! you are surely a fighter of ignorance ---
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/4 "2010-06-20T03:20:16Z")
Next logical question would then be - where did Mr Rogers get the phrase from? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/5 "2010-06-20T03:34:37Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc8723/32.png) [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Levolor_the_Blind)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/6 "2010-06-20T04:39:49Z")
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](http://ingeb.org/songs/anoldcow.html) - [music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMqKv7BOg_s&feature=related)) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/7 "2010-06-20T05:11:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/8 "2010-06-20T09:48:14Z")
> [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](#): > > 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](http://ingeb.org/songs/anoldcow.html) - [music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMqKv7BOg_s&feature=related)) Here’s a [spooky cool slow cover](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7jPpZ_x7m4) of the song and she sings “Ki-Yay, Yippy-Aye-Yo.” Love the sound effects, this sounds great on headphones! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/9 "2010-06-20T15:30:57Z")
It’s from the comedy song “I’m An Old Cowhand From The Rio Grande”, written by [Johnny Mercer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_an_Old_Cowhand_from_the_Rio_Grande) 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’) ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/10 "2010-06-21T16:54:22Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > 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. 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! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/11 "2010-06-21T17:00:43Z")
I thought Roy Rogers’ tagline was _Gabba gabba hey!_🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/12 "2010-06-21T17:14:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I thought Roy Rogers’ tagline was _Gabba gabba hey!_🆒 No, that was Roy Ramone. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/die-hard-yippikayey-motherfucker/543827/13 "2010-06-21T19:16:36Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > 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! 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!