"Panama" is a song by the American rock band Van Halen. It was the third US single released from their album 1984.
Background
Despite its name, the song is not about the country. Instead, the song was reportedly written about a car.[4][5] In an interview with Howard Stern, lead singer David Lee Roth explained the meaning behind the song. Although the song features some suggestive lyrics, it is about a car that Roth saw race in Las Vegas; its name was "Panama Express", hence the title of the song.[6][5]
Roth wrote the song after being accused by a reporter of "singing about only women, partying, and fast cars". He realized he had never written a song about fast cars and decided to write one.[8][5]
In an interview with guitarist Eddie Van Halen, he said the song was musically inspired by AC/DC's straightforward three chord rock style.
During the bridge of the song where Roth says "I can barely see the road from the heat comin' off," Eddie Van Halen can be heard revving his 1972 Lamborghini Miura S in the background.[9] The car was backed up to the studio and microphones were attached to the exhaust pipe to record the sound for the song.[4]
The car shown in the music video is a heavily customized 1951 Mercury Eight convertible - notably not "Panama Express", the Opel or the Miura.[citation needed]
Reception
Chuck Klosterman of Vulture ranked it the fourth best Van Halen song, calling it the "strongest pure riff in the catalogue."[15]
The song is also featured as in-game music for the video game Gran Turismo 4, with the song prominently featured in the game intro of the North American version.[17]
^The Super Book of Useless Information: The Most Powerfully Unnecessary Things You Never Need to Know. A Pedigree Book. October 4, 2011. ISBN978-0399536960.
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