Yankee Doodle Dandy

[Cold Pizza]

I remember hearing this (and perhaps singing it) when I was a kid.

What are the origins and meanings of this famous song?

Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather ‘Macaroni’?

Arika Okrent

Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni...Wait. What?

What’s going on here? Why would Yankee Doodle do something like that? What’s macaroni got to do with anything?

The first bit of context you need in order to understand the sense of this line is that the song “Yankee Doodle” was not always the proud, patriotic ditty we know today. It was originally sung by British soldiers in mockery of the rough, unsophisticated, American colonials they had to fight alongside during the French and Indian War. The thrust of it was “look at these ridiculous yokels!”

The second bit of context has to do with what was going on back in England at the time. It had become a rite of passage in the 18th century for young British men of means to spend some time on the European continent doing the Grand Tour, absorbing art, history, and language and becoming all-around cultured and sophisticated. When they returned, they brought back outlandish high-fashion clothes and mannerisms, and a taste for exotic Italian dishes like macaroni. As a group they were numerous and noticeable enough to get their own nickname. They were "macaroni."

Yankee Doodle, bumbling bumpkin that he was, tried his best to imitate the latest style, but only embarrassed himself in the attempt. Thinking himself a fashionable dandy, he stuck a feather in his cap and somehow thought that was macaroni. That was so something a doodle (meaning fool or simpleton) dandy would do.

It turned out the rustic, ragtag Americans weren’t much insulted by this and started singing the song themselves. It had a catchy tune, and they were never out to win any best-dressed awards anyway.

Not only did "Yankee Doodle" end up a staple of the American patriotic songbook, it gave us one of our most useful words, dude, which originally meant dandy and was formed off of doodle. So like, yeah, feather, macaroni, call it what you want, dude. Yankee Doodle's cool with it.

Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather ?Macaroni?? | Mental Floss

[Cold Pizza]

Kids Version of Yankee Doodle:

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

Chorus:
Yankee Doodle, keep it up
Yankee Doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
and with the girls be handy!

Father and I went down to camp
Along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.

Chorus
And there was Captain Washington
And gentle folks about him
They say he's grown so tarnal proud
He will not ride without them.

Chorus


Full version of Yankee Doodle:

Yankee Doodle went to town
A-riding on a pony,
Stuck a feather in his cap
And called it macaroni'.

Chorus:
Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.

Fath'r and I went down to camp,
Along with Captain Gooding,
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.

Chorus
And there we saw a thousand men
As rich as Squire David,
And what they wasted every day,
I wish it could be saved.

Chorus
The 'lasses they eat it every day,
Would keep a house a winter;
They have so much, that I'll be bound,
They eat it when they've mind ter.

Chorus
And there I see a swamping gun
Large as a log of maple,
Upon a deuced little cart,
A load for father's cattle.

Chorus
And every time they shoot it off,
It takes a horn of powder,
and makes a noise like father's gun,
Only a nation louder.

Chorus
I went as nigh to one myself
As 'Siah's inderpinning;
And father went as nigh again,
I thought the deuce was in him.

Chorus
Cousin Simon grew so bold,
I thought he would have cocked it;
It scared me so I shrinked it off
And hung by father's pocket.

Chorus
And Cap'n Davis had a gun,
He kind of clapt his hand on't
And stuck a crooked stabbing iron
Upon the little end on't

Chorus
And there I see a pumpkin shell
As big as mother's bason,
And every time they touched it off
They scampered like the nation.

Chorus
I see a little barrel too,
The heads were made of leather;
They knocked on it with little clubs
And called the folks together.

Chorus
And there was Cap'n Washington,
And gentle folks about him;
They say he's grown so 'tarnal proud
He will not ride without em'.

Chorus
He got him on his meeting clothes,
Upon a slapping stallion;
He sat the world along in rows,
In hundreds and in millions.

Chorus
The flaming ribbons in his hat,
They looked so tearing fine, ah,
I wanted dreadfully to get
To give to my Jemima.

Chorus
I see another snarl of men
A digging graves they told me,
So 'tarnal long, so 'tarnal deep,
They 'tended they should hold me.

Chorus
It scared me so, I hooked it off,
Nor stopped, as I remember,
Nor turned about till I got home,
Locked up in mother's chamber.

Chorus

Yankee Doodle Lyrics

[Maanaam]

So that's where "dude" comes from.

[Cold Pizza]

So that's where "dude" comes from.

There is disagreement on this.

I've read some articles that the term "dude" came out in the American Southwest in the 1800s.

[billy the kid]

Rich guy from town who buys a farm or ranch. cool dude ,rich dude.

[BaitongBoy]

I've had macaroni and cheese for two days now...One of my favourite meals as a child...

[Maanaam]

I've had macaroni and cheese for two days now...One of my favourite meals as a child...

Yeah, as long as it's home made and not out of a box; Disgusting, that stuff!

[VocalNeal]

It's all on Wikipedia. This is just another attempt by netizen to rewrite history to suit their perceptions or objectives.

Oh and Dude? A doodle was a fool or simpleton.
Macaroni was style of wig or hairpiece
A dandy we would now call a Hipster.

Etc, etc.