{"data":{"description":"Download Yankee Doodle Dandy. Yankee Doodle Dandy was universally popular among both the rebels and British soldiers during the War.","title":"Yankee Doodle Dandy","post_type":"page","content":"\u003cstrong\u003eDownload Yankee Doodle Dandy. \u003c/strong\u003e.. see also: \u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/\"\u003eThe Music of Early America\u003c/a\u003e for more music categories.\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/images/earlyamerica/music-symbol.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"15\" height=\"18\" /\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"/media/earlyamerica/YankeeDoodle.midi\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eYankee Doodle\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\nAlthough written several years before the American Revolution, \"Yankee Doodle Dandy\" was universally popular among both the rebels and British soldiers during the War.\r\n\r\nIn America the song surfaced during the French and Indian War when the colonials joined forces with General Braddock at Niagara. The colonials were a motley crew, wearing furs and buckskins. British surgeon Richard Schuckburg during that war reportedly substituted new words for the old Cromwell song, changing Nankee to Yankee, making fun of the Americans fighting alongside the British troops. Legend has it that the song first appeared as a nursery rhyme ridiculing England's Oliver Cromwell as \"Nankee Doodle.\"\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eIn the song: \"Doodle\" refers to \"a sorry trifling fellow. A fool or simpleton.\" \"Dandy,\" on the other hand, refers to \"a gentleman of affected manners, dress and hairstyle.\" \"Macaroni\" was not a reference to the pasta but to \"a fancy style of Italian dress imitated in England at the time.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eThe song expressed the perception of the British that a colonial could stick a feather in his coonskin cap and think he was as fashionable as any European. Thus the song was a parody proclaiming the colonials as country bumpkins.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eThough the song held them up to ridicule, the colonials adopted the song as their own.\u003c/p\u003e\r\nCountless versions evolved, as many as 190 verses in all. In a display of irony.... when the British surrendered their forces at Yorktown to end the War, their band played \"The World Turned Upside Down.\" The Americans played \"Yankee Doodle.\"\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eThe colonials may have been an army of ragtag farmers — under-equipped, under-clothed and rarely paid. But they defeated the largest, most powerful army in Europe to gain their freedom.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n see also:\r\n\u003cul style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/french-indian-war/\"\u003eThe French \u0026 Indian War\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/18th-century/\"\u003eThe 18th Century\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/revolutionary-war/\"\u003eThe Revolutionary War\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/music-george-washingtons-life/\"\u003eGeorge Washington’s Life\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/war-1812/\"\u003eThe War of 1812\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/music1/star-spangled-banner-america/\"\u003eThe Star-Spangled Banner \u0026 America\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003c/ul\u003e","menu":[{"path":"lives-early-america","title":"Famous Lives","submenu":[{"path":"lives-early-america/autobiography-benjamin-franklin","title":"Autobiography of Ben Franklin"},{"path":"lives-early-america/ramsays-life-washington","title":"Ramsay's The Life of Washington"},{"path":"lives-early-america/adventures-col-daniel-boone","title":"The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boone"},{"path":"lives-early-america/true-story-paul-revere","title":"The True Story of Paul Revere"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"portrait","title":"Portraits"},{"path":"rare-images/last-men-revolution","title":"The Last Men of the Revolution"}]},{"path":"freedom-documents","title":"Freedom Documents","submenu":[{"path":"freedom-documents/bill-rights","title":"Bill of Rights"},{"path":"freedom-documents/declaration-independence","title":"Declaration of Independence"},{"path":"freedom-documents/u-s-constitution","title":"The U.S. Constitution"}]},{"path":"world-early-america","title":"World of Early America","submenu":[{"path":"bookmarks","title":"Early American Bookmarks"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"firsts","title":"Firsts!"},{"path":"rare-images/maps","title":"Maps"},{"path":"rare-images","title":"Rare Images"},{"path":"music1","title":"Music"},{"path":"writings","title":"The Writings of Early America"}]},{"path":"boston-massacre","title":"Boston Massacre"},{"path":"milestone-events","title":"Milestones"},{"path":"early-america-review","title":"The Review"},{"path":"home/teachers-students","title":"Teachers"},{"path":"sitemap","title":"Sitemap"}]},"success":true}