![]() ![]() Photo Washington Later, the song became popular amongst Americans as a song of defiance. Written at Fort Crailo around 1755 by British Army surgeon Richard Shuckburgh while campaigning in Rensselaer, New York, the British troops sang the song to make fun of their American soldier counterparts, who, the British joked, thought were stylish just by placing a random feather in their likely tricorn hats. “Yankee Doodle” was originally sung by the British military officers to mock the American colonists, the shabby “Yankees,” with whom they fought with during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). Therefore, the line in the nursery rhyme was likely an insult from the British to the colonists who the Brits saw as lower-class men who lacked masculinity and true status. In British vernacular, then, the term “Yankee doodle dandy” meant someone who was unsophisticated but who took on upper-class fashion-as if sticking a feather in your hat may give you supreme status. Macaroni was even used as a term to describe a fashionable man, most often derisively, someone who exceeded the ordinary understanding of fashion, grooming, eating, or gambling. ![]() Therefore, the “macaroni” wig was something a “fop” or “dandy” might wear to look important and of a certain status or class. The word “dandy” also appears in “Yankee Doodle” and that word, similar to “fop,” denotes someone who placed importance on physical appearance and refined language, as well as leisure activities. It is thought to be derived from the German word “dudel,” which means “playing music badly.” Another close relation is the term “Dödel,” which means “fool” or “simpleton.” (This is likely also where our slang “Dude” comes from.)Īccording to scholars, the Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion statement in the 1770s and it was known as a slang term for a fop, which was a pejorative word for a man excessively concerned with his appearance and clothes around that time. The term “Doodle” shows up in the English language in the early 17th century. Today, the song’s tune is shared with others like “Jack and Jill.” It also reportedly inspired the theme song used for the children’s television show, Barney & the Backyard Gang and Barney & Friends. The song is attributed to Richard Shuckburgh, who likely wrote it in America at Fort Crailo around 1755. That song contained mostly gibberish lines like “Yanker, didel, doodle down, Diddle, dudel, lanther, Yanke viver, voover vown, Botermilk und tanther.” Apparently, farmhands in Holland were paid “as much buttermilk as they could drink, and a tenth of the grain.” In fact, the melody may date back to an old Irish song, “ All the Way to Galway,” in which the second strain is identical to “Yankee Doodle.”įurthermore, the earliest lyrics of the song come from a Middle Dutch harvest song, which also follows the same tune and likely dates back as far as the 15th century in Holland. The melody perhaps even goes back to folk songs of Medieval Europe. And many scholars believe the tune of the song is even older than the nursery rhyme, itself. Ever since its writing, the song has been sung as a patriotic anthem. “Yankee Doodle” predates the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). You will see later why that makes it a perfectly fitting piece of memorabilia for the life of the late, great George M Cohan, beloved of Presiodents and thought by most to be America´s greatest ever showman.īut what does it all mean? To find out, dear reader, let’s dive in and investigate the history and meaning of the famous nursery rhyme, “Yankee Doodle.” It’s a patriotic song-indeed, it’s the official state anthem of Connecticut-and it’s a song that brings a smile to our faces, singing of features in caps and macaroni. Jacob Iutti, though, reminds us that in America Yankee Doodle is still seen as a patriotic song. ![]() I knew I would ´borrow´ that phrase one day) I knew as a child sixty five years ago. Over in the UK, children also learned the tune, as it had centuries earlier been adapted to several of the nursery crhymes (thank you Tony Webb, of The Nearly Dead Poets. Still, I´m not sure that opening with a photograph of a statue of George M Cohan (right), beloved of Presidents and thought by most of us to lay claim to being America´s greatest ever showman, might not necessarily lead you to the real subject matter of today´s article in which I invite you to join us singing nursery rhymes and Uncle Sam and 4th July and Jack And Jill.Īccording to Jacob Uitti, writing recently in American Songwriter, Yankee Doodle Dandy is a song learned by generations of American children. ![]()
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