"Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pony. Stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni!”
Is this the way to talk about the heroes of the Revolution? The British thought it was.
“Yankee Doodle” started out as a song that made fun of American forces. British bands played it on British warships, probably to ridicule colonial fighters. No one knows where they came up with the term “Yankee,” but “doodle” was a word for a sad little figure. A dandy was known by all to be a proud, affected, and ridiculously overdressed fellow. The British sang it to insult Americans and they played it when they marched on Lexington and Concord.
What did Americans do about that? They embraced the silly song, turning "Yankee Doodle" into a much-loved celebration of the underdog. The State of Connecticut made it their state song. George M. Cohen inserted it into his tune, called “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.” And John Phillip Sousa reused it again and again, so that it became a favorite in Fourth of July parades, nationwide.
What do you do with a national insult? Turn it inside out!