If you're an American, you learned to sing "Yankee Doodle" in kindergarten, but you were never really sure what it meant. What’s a doodle? And why would anybody call a feather macaroni? “Yankee Doodle” sounds like just a silly children’s song — until you know the story behind it.
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| The French attack St. John's, Newfoundland, in the French and Indian War. |
Before the Revolutionary War, the American Colonists fought side by side with Great Britain in the French and Indian War. French settlers were gaining a real foothold in the Ohio Valley, and Great Britain went to war to defend their claim to the land. Many Native Americans sided with the French, and the war was fought with basically the Brits and the Colonists on one side, and the French and the “Indians” on the other — even though, some of the Native Americans fought with the British.
The British soldiers thought the Colonists were a rag-taggy
band, without the formal military training and clean, pressed uniforms that the British had. Some of the Brits made up a
song to mock the Americans: “Yankee Doodle went to town,
a-riding on a pony...”
Doodle probably came from a German word for “fool” or “simpleton.”
But what about “Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni”?
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| Philip Daw's painting of a Macaroni |
In 17th century England, there was a snobbish club called the Macaronis. They were considered to be the height of sophistication and fashion — but also rather weak and girlie. The song was saying that these hick Colonists are so dumb that if they stick a feather in their hats, they think it makes them fashionable like the Macaronis.
Of course, feathers are useful for more than decorating hats. They can also be used for writing and signing documents — say, the Declaration of Independence, for example.
Maybe it was the catchy tune, but for some reason, the Americans took a liking to "Yankee Doodle" and started singing it. In fact, they wrote new verses to mock the British.
After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, a Boston newspaper reported that one British officer asked another,
“How do you like the song now?”
The second officer replied, “Dang them. They made us dance it till we were tired.”
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| The British surrender at Yorktown. |
When the British finally surrendered at Yorktown, tradition has it that the band played “Yankee Doodle.” In just a few
short years, the song had been transformed from a ditty mocking the Colonists to a triumphant song of victory.
As Americans in the 21st century, we can still sing “Yankee
Doodle” with patriotic pride!
Photo Credits:
The French attack St. John's - Artist unknown.
Public domain: This work is in the public domain in its country
of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term
is the author's life plus 70 years or less;
A Macaroni - Artist: Philip Daw;
Public domain: This work is in the public domain in its country
of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term
is the author's life plus 100 years or less.
Vintage quill - © Can Stock Photo / sharpner;
Writing the Declaration - Artist: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris;
The author died in 1930, so this work is in the public domain
in its country of origin and other countries and areas where
the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less.
Surrender at Yorktown - Artist: John Trumbull;
Title: Surrender of Lord Cornwallis;
Public Domain: This work is in the public domain in the United States
because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office)
before January 1, 1923.
Spirit of '76 - Artist: Archibald Willard;
The author died in 1918, so this work is in the public domain in its country
of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the
author's life plus 95 years or less.
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