| Yankee Doodle |
Article Index for Yankee Doodle |
Articles about Yankee Doodle |
Website Links For Yankee Doodle |
Information AboutYankee Doodle |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT YANKEE DOODLE | |
| alvin and the chipmunks songs | |
| american folk songs | |
| burl ives songs | |
| connecticut culture | |
| military marches | |
| patriotic songs | |
| united states state songs | |
| symbols of connecticut | |
|
The first verse and refrain, as most frequently sung today, run thus: Yankee Doodle came to town, Riding on a pony; He stuck a feather in his hat, And called it macaroni. Yankee Doodle, keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy; Mind the music and the step, And with the girls be handy! The tune has become synonymous with the United States. The Voice Of America begins all broadcasts and ends all broadcasts with the Interval Signal of "Yankee Doodle". HISTORY AND LYRICS The song's origins were in a pre- United States Revolutionary War song originally sung by British military officers to mock the dishevelled, unorganized colonial " Yankee s" with whom they served in the French And Indian War . At the time, the most common meaning of the word '' Doodle '' had the meaning of "simpleton" or "fool". It is believed that the tune comes from the Nursery Rhyme '' Lucy Locket ''. One version of the Yankee Doodle lyrics is attributed to Doctor Richard Shuckburgh, a British Army surgeon. The Boston ''Journal of the Times'' wrote about a British band declaring "that ''Yankee Doodle'' song was the Capital Piece of their band music." Early versions The earliest known version of the lyrics comes from 1775 : :Brother Ephraim sold his Cow :And bought him a Commission; :And then he went to Canada :To fight for the Nation; :But when Ephraim he came home :He proved an arrant Coward, :He wouldn't fight the Frenchmen there :For fear of being devour'd. (Note that the sheet music which accompanies these lyrics reads, "The Words to be Sung through the Nose, & in the West Country drawl & dialect.") The Ephraim referenced here was Ephraim Williams , a popularly known Colonel in the Massachusetts militia who was killed in the Battle Of Lake George . He left his land and property to the founding of a school in Western Massachusetts, now known as Williams College . During the Revolutionary War, the Americans embraced the song and made it their own, turning it back on those who had used it to mock them. A newspaper account after the Battle Of Lexington And Concord , a Boston newspaper reported, "Upon their return to Boston by the Minutemen , one [Briton] asked his brother officer how he liked the tune now,-- 'Damn them,' returned he, 'they made us dance it till we were tired.' -- Since which Yankee Doodle sounds less sweet to their ears." The British responded with another set of lyrics following the Battle Of Bunker Hill : :The seventeen of June, at Break of Day, :The Rebels they supriz'd us, :With their strong Works, which they'd thrown up, :To burn the Town and drive us. Full version A full version of the song, as it is known today, goes: :Father and I went down to camp, :Along with Captain Gooding, :And there we saw the men and boys :As thick as hasty pudding. :Yankee Doodle keep it up, :Yankee Doodle dandy, :Mind the music and the step, :And with the girls be handy. :And there we saw a thousand men :As rich as Squire David, :And what they wasted every day, :I wish it could be saved. :Yankee Doodle &c. :And there we saw a swamping gun, :Large as a log of maple, :Upon a deuced little cart, :A load for father's cattle. :Yankee Doodle &c. :And every time they shoot it off, :It takes a horn of powder; :It makes a noise like father's gun, :Only a nation louder. :Yankee Doodle &c. :Cousin Simon grew so bold, :I thought he would have cock'd it. :It scaredme so, I shrieked it off, :And hung by father's pocket. :Yankee Doodle &c. :I saw a little barrel too, :The heads were made of leather. :They knocked on it with little clubs :And called the folks together. :Yankee Doodle &c. :And there was Captain Washington, :They say he's grown so tarnal proud, :He will not ride without them. :Yankee Doodle &c. :He got himself in meeting-clothes, :Upon a slapping stallion. :He set the world along in rows, :In hundreds and in millions. :Yankee Doodle &c. :The flaming ribbons in his hat, :They looked so taring fine, ah, :I wanted pockily to get, :To give to my Jemimah. :Yankee Doodle &c. Civil war During the American Civil War , Southerners added some new lines of their own: :Yankee Doodle had a mind :To whip the Southern rebels, :Because they did not choose to live :On codfish from his tables. :Yankee Doodle, fa, so la, :Yankee Doodle dandy, :And so to keep his courage up, :He took a drink of brandy. Also popular in the South was a further customized version called " Dixie Doodle ": :Dixie whipped old Yankee Doodle :Early in the morning. :Yankeedom had best look out :And take a timely warning. :Hurrah! for our Dixie land, :Hurrah! for our borders! :Southern boys to arms will stand :And whip the dark marauders. Variations and Parodies Many other variations and Parodies have since arisen, including the one taught to schoolchildren today: :Yankee Doodle went to town :A-riding on a pony :He stuck a feather in his hat :And called it macaroni Some believe that this was one of the first alternative lyrics by the British army during the revolutionary war. Macaroni was a very nice club in London at the time, London being the town that the Yankee came to. The joke being that the Yankees are stupid enough to believe that a feather in the hat is sufficiently spiffy to gain entry to Macaroni. The word Macaroni also meant " Dandy ", or "fop", or "dude" at the time. In the 1930's jazz vocalist Billie Holiday sung her own funny version of the song: 'Yankee Doodle never went to town': :Yankee doodle never went to town :I just discovered the story was phony :Let me give you all the real low-down :He didn’t even own a pony :He was really very short and fat :While in the story so skinny and moany :And so hungry that he ate his hat :And called the felt macaroni :Underneath the chestnut tree :He and the blacksmith would sip that tea :Then he’d bring out his uniform down :That’s how he went to town :Yankee doodle tried to leave one day :Took his belongings and mounted his saddle :But he never got it on his way :Cause he didn’t have a pony :And the fairy tale is phony :How could yankee doodle go to town? And there are the following anonymous junior-high school campus parodies: :Yankee Doodle went to town :Riding in a rocket :It flew so high, he lost an eye :And corked out his eye socket. :Yankee Doodle went to town :Riding on a heater :Accidentally turned it on :And burned his little wiener :Yankee Doodle went to town :Riding on a rocket :Stuck his finger up his butt :and called it Hersheys chocolate :Yankee Doodle went to town :Riding on a chicken :Stuck his finger up his butt :and called it finger lickin' :Yankee Doodle went to town :Riding on a pickle :Stuck his finger up his butt :n'said "Hey! I found a nickel! As well as the more vulgar :Yankee Doodle went to town :Riding on a his mother :every time he hit a bump :he had a baby brother Popular Culture Roger Ramjet The theme song for the 1960s TV cartoon series, '' Roger Ramjet '' was sung to the tune of ''Yankee Doodle''. The first verse and the chorus were: :Roger Ramjet and his Eagles :Fighting for our freedom :Flies through in and outer space :Not to join 'em, but to beat 'em :Roger Ramjet, he's our man, :Hero of our nation :For his adventures just be sure :And stay tuned to this station Barney & Friends The ''Barney Theme Song'' and ''Barney Is A Dinosaur'' are sung to Yankee Doodle in all the Barney episodes/videos/toys/etc. Paint Your Wagon In the musical, '' Paint Your Wagon '', the "Shivaree" concerning Ben Rumson's impending arranged marriage inspired this version: :Mr. Rumson went to town :Ridin' on a pony :Bought a wife and brought her home :And called it matrimony :Mr. Rumson bought a bride :Out in " Californy " :He'd a-saved a lot o' money :Stayin' drunk and horny! America Sings In America Sings , a Disneyland attraction made for the bicentennial, Yankee Doodle acts as a transition song between each scene with these lyrics, sung by a Bald Eagle named Sam, voiced by Burl Ives : Refrain: :Yankee Doodle sing it up. :Yankee Doodle dandy. :Mind the music and the words :and with the songs be handy... The South: :Yankee Doodle travelled south, :a-riding on a riverboat, :played a tune and sang it out; :it sounded like a billygoat. :Yankee Doodle liked the South :and sang their songs so dear. :Thought they were most elegant :for everyone to hear. The Old West: :Yankee Doodle headed west :a-workin' on the railroad; :Crossin' them rivers, over hills, :and moving with a big load. :Onward west the trains rolled. :where cattle were a-grazin'. :The tales and songs that people sang :were really quite amazin' The 1890's: :The "Gay 90s" were upon us now; :the country was in full swing. :People headin' for the cities; :had to do their own thing. :Each time the people sang a song, :the tunesmiths wrote another :'bout love, marriage, moon in June, :and always one about Mother. The 20th Century: :Next came ragtime, blues and jazz. :The nation was a-jumpin'! :Fox trots and the bunny hug :had everyone a-stompin' :Then swing and big bands were the rage. :The songs they were most pleasin'. :Rock and roll soon took its toll; :the dancers stopped a-squeezin'. Transition to finale: :Yankee Doodle remembers when, :to make these songs ring true, :people came from every land :to mix these tunes for you. :So we should all remember, :as hist'ry moves along, :that everything is better now :'cause someone wrote a song Final Verse: :Yankee Doodle always said :the past is just a start; :Tomorrow will bring songs to you :that come straight from the heart. :Another thing he had to say :is life is just a song. :So, everybody get in tune, :and let's all sing along EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|