Yankee Doodle
Lyrics Composed by British Soldiers (c.1755)
Melody Author Unknown
1st Four Verses Listed Below

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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


Source:  Library of Congress.

Note:  The British sang Yankee Doodle to berate the Americans during the Revolutionary War.  A dandy is a vain gentleman.  Macaroni was a fancy style of dress.  Hence, a common soldier putting a feather in his cap would not make him a distinguished gentleman, nor a dandy.

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