From 1974 until 1985, Van Halen consisted of Eddie Van Halen; Eddie's brother, drummer Alex Van Halen; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony. Upon its release in 1978, the band's self-titled debut album reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts and would sell over 10 million copies in the U.S. By 1982, the band released four more albums (Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down), all of which have since been certified multi-platinum. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the day. The album 1984 was a commercial success with U.S. sales of 10 million copies and four hit singles; its lead single, "Jump", was the band's only U.S. number one single.
In 1985, Roth left the band to embark on a solo career and was replaced by former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the group released four U.S. number-one, multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years (5150 in 1986, OU812 in 1988, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in 1991, and Balance in 1995). Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band's first greatest hits collection, Best of Volume 1. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar and recorded the commercially unsuccessful album Van Halen III with the band in 1998, before parting ways in 1999. Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar in 2003 for a worldwide tour in 2004 and the double-disc greatest hits collection The Best of Both Worlds. Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005. In 2006 Roth returned, but Anthony was replaced on bass guitar by Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In 2012, the band released their final studio album A Different Kind of Truth, which was commercially and critically successful; it was also Van Halen's first album with Roth in 28 years and the only one to feature Wolfgang.
As of March 2019, Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. As of 2007, Van Halen is one of only five rock bands with two studio albums to sell more than 10 million copies in the United States and is tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 Hard Rock artists of all time.
Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, and died of the disease on October 6, 2020. A month after his father's death, Wolfgang confirmed that Van Halen had disbanded.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen
Studio albums
Van Halen (1978)
Van Halen II (1979)
Women and Children First (1980)
Fair Warning (1981)
Diver Down (1982)
1984 (1984)
5150 (1986)
OU812 (1988)
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
Balance (1995)
Van Halen III (1998)
A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
Cabo Wabo
Van Halen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Man, I thought I'd seen it all, oh
Around the world, searchin' every corner
Man, I thought I'd hit the wall
There's a sleepy town as south of the border
If you go there once, you'll be there twice
Lots of pretty girls, coming by the dozens
We can crash on the beach
You know I wanna make love in the sea
We gotta try a little dance, so Cabo Wabo
It's alright by me
Come on, let me take you down
I will show you around
Let me take you down
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
Land's end, you have to see it
Ain't no picture ever say it right, oh
Walkin' the streets doing that ole, the Cabo Wabo
Place comes to life every night, oh
I wanna crash on the beach
You know I wanna make love in the sea
Yeah, it's all right there
We don't have to chase it, fits Paradise to a T
Come on, let me take you down
I will show you around
Let me take you down
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
Oh hey, oh hey
We drink Mescal right from the bottle
Salt shaker, little lick a lime, oh
Throwin' down, down tryin' to reach the bottom
Where the guave worm, well he's mine, all mine
Come on, crash on the beach
You know I wanna make love in the sea, whoa
Go try a little dance, so Cabo Wabo
It's alright by me
Let me take you down
I will show you around
Let me take you down
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
Face down (face down) down in Cabo
Take me down (take me down) down to Cabo
Face down (face down) down in Cabo
Doin' the Cabo Wabo
Take me down (take me down) down to Cabo
Wooh, come on, give it, give it, ow
Ah-hah, woo-hoo, ow, come on
The lyrics of Van Halen's Cabo Wabo are about the pleasures of vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The song begins with the singer reflecting on his travels across the globe, including Rome and Dallas, and how he thought he had seen it all until he discovered Cabo. The town is described as a sleepy town south of the border that features attractive women and beautiful white sand beaches. The singer invites his love interest to join him in Cabo, where they can crash on the beach, dance and make love in the sea.
The song also highlights the unique experiences available in Cabo such as drinking Mescal straight from the bottle and licking salt and lime. The second verse references the beautiful Land’s End rock formation, which marks the southernmost point of the Baja California Peninsula, and the vibrant nightlife that the town offers. The title of the song refers to the namesake nightclub that was co-founded by Sammy Hagar, the lead vocalist for Van Halen from 1985 to 1996. Cabo Wabo was a famous venue but was destroyed in a hurricane in the 90s. The song has become an anthem for Cabo San Lucas and Sammy Hagar frequently performs it in concerts.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been to Rome, Dallas, Texas
I've traveled to many places across the world, including Rome and Dallas, Texas.
Man, I thought I'd seen it all, oh
I believed I had experienced everything there was to see in the world.
Around the world, searchin' every corner
I've scoured every part of the world in search of new experiences.
Man, I thought I'd hit the wall
I thought I had run out of new adventure options.
There's a sleepy town as south of the border
There is a quiet, peaceful town south of the border (Mexico).
If you go there once, you'll be there twice
If you visit this town once, you'll want to go back again.
Lots of pretty girls, coming by the dozens
There are many attractive women in this town.
The white sand sure makes a tan look nice
The town's white sandy beaches are perfect for getting a nice tan.
We can crash on the beach
We can sleep on the beach.
You know I wanna make love in the sea
I want to have sex in the ocean.
We gotta try a little dance, so Cabo Wabo
We should try a dance called Cabo Wabo.
It's alright by me
I'm okay with it.
Come on, let me take you down
Let me guide you through the town.
I will show you around
I will give you a tour of the town.
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
I'm so happy to be in Cabo that I want to kiss the ground while lying face down.
Land's end, you have to see it
You must see the end of the land.
Ain't no picture ever say it right, oh
No picture can accurately depict the beauty of the place.
Walkin' the streets doing that ole, the Cabo Wabo
Walking around the town, engaging in the traditional dance of Cabo Wabo.
Place comes to life every night, oh
Every night, the town becomes more vibrant.
Yeah, it's all right there
Everything is good and wonderful in this town.
We don't have to chase it, fits Paradise to a T
We don't have to search for anything, everything appears perfect to suit our taste (like a paradise).
We drink Mescal right from the bottle
We consume Mescal liquor straight from its bottle.
Salt shaker, little lick a lime, oh
We use a salt shaker and take a small bite of lime after drinking the Mescal.
Throwin' down, down tryin' to reach the bottom
We are drinking a lot and trying to finish the bottle.
Where the guave worm, well he's mine, all mine
I will claim and keep the guava worm that is found in some Mescal bottles.
Go try a little dance, so Cabo Wabo
Try to do a dance called Cabo Wabo.
Oh hey, oh hey
Hey, hey.
Doin' the Cabo Wabo
Doing and performing the Cabo Wabo dance.
Wooh, come on, give it, give it, ow
Let's go, keep going, wow.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALEX VAN HALEN, EDWARD VAN HALEN, SAMMY HAGAR, MICHAEL ANTHONY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Professor Chops
I've been to Rome, Dallas, Texas
Man, I thought I'd seen it all, oh
Around the world, searchin' every corner
Man, I thought I'd hit the wall
There's a sleepy town as south of the border
If you go there once, you'll be there twice
Lots of pretty girls, coming by the dozens
The white sand sure makes a tan look nice
We can crash on the beach
You know I wanna make love in the sea
We gotta try a little dance, so Cabo Wabo
It's alright by me
Come on, let me take you down
I will show you around (down in Cabo)
Let me take you down
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
Land's end, you have to see it
Ain't no picture ever say it right, no, oh
Walkin' the streets doing that ole, the Cabo Wabo
Place comes to life every night, oh
I wanna crash on the beach
You know I wanna make love in the sea
Yeah, it's all right there
We don't have to chase it, fits Paradise to a T
Come on, let me take you down
I will show you around (down in Cabo)
Let me take you down
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
Oh hey, oh hey
We drink Mescal right from the bottle
Salt shaker, little lick a lime, oh
Throwin' down, down tryin' to reach the bottom
Where the guave worm, well he's mine, all mine
Come on, crash on the beach
You know I wanna make love in the sea, whoa
Go try a little dance, so Cabo Wabo
It's alright by me
Let me take you down
I will show you around (down in Cabo)
Let me take you down
Face down in Cabo kissing the ground
Face down (face down) down in Cabo
Take me down (take me down) down to Cabo
Face down (face down) down in Cabo
Doin' the Cabo Wabo, ow
Take me down (take me down) down to Cabo
Wooh, come on, give it, give it, ow
Ah-hah, woo-hoo, ow, come on
Paul Johnson
RIP Eddie--you were a gift to the music world and it was great growing listening to your riffs whether it was DLR or Sammy!
Erik Amelung
This album is an absolute soundtrack in my life and my personal favorite Van Halen album. I won this album through a radio show in 1988. Very fond memories of this year!
Megalodon Sean Casey
@the Opinionator , surely you jest
the Opinionator
Or Gary. Better singer than DLR by a universe and only just better than Sammy. Not given a damn chance in VH.
Paul Johnson
@Jaci Sig agree Jaci-definitely an underrated track on OU812!
HighSpeedNoDrag
Right On Bro and then some.
Donn Swaby
Easily one of my all time favorite Van Halen songs. I used to work at a pizza shop in NYC in the summer of 1988 and I'd get home on a Friday night, go up to my attic/room , eat a couple of slices, then plug in my guitar and play along with this song. Even now, all these years later, there is something so magical about this particular VH song. There literally is no other VH song like it. The phenomenal melody, the lyrics, the "Beach Boy" background harmonies, that amazingly shimmery guitar sound Eddie created. And you just can't beat the sound of that chorus, seriously. "let me take you down!" Never gets old. Ever.
dan
Best song on thee album got a good vibe like summer nights off 5150
ColtraneTaylor
@starr shine Except Alex has more groove even when he tries to play like Bonham.
Christina Shipley
When times were awesome!