David Letterman gave the world many things during his years as a late-night talk show host, but today, I believe we have found not only the greatest, but also the perfect way to kickstart your Independence Day weekend: Batman, in full costume, singing "God Bless America" in front of the American Flag while fireworks go off around him.

Seriously, no matter what kind of cookout you're planning, it's not going to get better than that.

Okay, so maybe it's not quite Batman. As you might be able to tell from the clip, as grainy as it is from what I imagine is a 20 year-old VHS tape, that's not actually Michael Keaton in the bat-suit belting out patriotic songs as a stirring protest against the role of the Caped Crusader being recast and going to Val Kilmer. It is, in fact, Calvert DeForest as Late Show mainstay Larry "Bud" Melman, as Keaton, as Batman, adding an entirely different and amazing layer of complexity to what's going on.

As for what that has to do with the Fourth of July, well, I'm not quite sure, but I suspect the thought process here was a lot like what happened when Melman was invited back to the stage after the song and then summarily dismissed. As Letterman himself says, "You know, I though it'd be fun to bring him out here, and then I realized, well, what do we do with him when he comes out?"

Also notable: This was the lead-in to an appearance by Super Dave Osborne, and there are very few things that say "America" more than that.

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