This being the time for patriotic songs galore, this Friday Fun/Soundtrack post takes a look at a song you have been singing probably without much afterthought since music class in elementary school.
"Yankee Doodle" is a song that is older than our country. While the author and original lyrics are contentious, its intent is certain. Yankee Doodle was meant to mock and humiliate the American colonists by British soldiers. Let's take the most famous verse. Yankee Doodle went to town Riding on a pony Stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni I mean this is silly-song today in 2016 and something little kids would love but did you ever wonder why Yankee Doodle cannot tell the difference between birds and pasta? Well, macaroni is not actually referring to food, in 1776 it meant an overly fashionable man. In other words, a male who tries to hard to be hip and cool. Wait, did England just compare us to the fat dude wearing skinny jeans? Yankee Doodle keep it up (read: this is entertaining, like watching an ugly guy ask out the hottest girl in school) Yankee Doodle Dandy (dandy following our macaroni theme) Mind the music and the steps (said in such a way as to insinuate Americans cannot dance or follow rhythm) And with the girls be handy (This line is more literal than you thought in 5th grade) Don't believe me yet, well read this stanza which never made your patriotic hymn book ​Yankee Doodle came to town, For to buy a firelock, We will tar and feather him, And so we will John Hancock. (thanks Wikipedia) Hancock, as you probably know, was the leader of the Continental Congress so that's a pretty clear statement as to the intention of this song. So what happened? How did this diss track become a sign of patriotism and American nationalism? Well, like any great diss track you use the same beat to write your response. Competing versions, including an American version with 15 separate stanzas inundated the ears of Americans and Europeans alike. There are even claims that Americans played the song after the British surrender of Saratoga. Savage. The result is the weird hodge podge of a song we now mindlessly sing every July, so go ahead and give it a real listen this year.
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