Are You Singing the Right Version of Yankee Doodle?

If you sing "Yankee Doodle" with these lyrics:

Yankee Doodle went to town
A riding on a pony
Stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni

You’re actually singing a version of the song the British wrote to make fun of the Colonists. Back in Colonial times "macaroni" meant high fashion. So, the British were basically calling the Colonials silly country bumpkins who thought a feather in their hat made good.

The real first verse of the song? Try these lyrics:

Fath'r and I went down to camp,
Along with Cap'n Goodin',
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty puddin'.

But the British weren’t the only ones making up parodies. Dr. Joseph Warren, the man who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride, took a British marching song and turned it into a Colonial anthem.

At his pen, this song:

Those heroes of antiquity ne'er saw a cannon ball,
Or knew the force of powder to slay their foes withal.
But our brave boys do know it, and banish all their fears,
Sing tow, row, row, row, row, row, for the British Grenadiers.

Became:

We led fair Freedom hither, And lo, the desert smiled,
A paradise of pleasure, New opened in the wild;
Your harvest, bold Americans, no power shall snatch away,
Preserve, preserve, preserve your rights in free America.

Not all Revolutionary War songs were patriotic anthems. Some, from the point of view of wives and lovers, took a more personal and heartbroken tone.

Me, oh my, I loved him so,
Broke my heart to see him go,
And only time will heal my woe,
Johnny has gone for a soldier.

This song, "Johnny’s Gone for a Soldier," is most likely a reworking of a traditional Irish ballad.