Yankee Doodle Dandy

[Lucy Hamilton]

So maybe American's can explain this to me, it's confusing.

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


Why did he call a feather macaroni? Is it do you think just because it rhymes with pony? Or maybe for some other reason?

 

[Auld Phart]

From Wikipedia

Yankee Doodle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The term Doodle first appeared in the early seventeenth century,[4] and is thought to be derived from the Low German dudel, meaning “playing music badly” or Dödel, meaning "fool" or "simpleton". The Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion in the 1770s and became contemporary slang for foppishness.[5] Dandies were young English men who adopted feminine mannerisms and highly extravagant attire, and were deemed effeminate.[citation needed]

They were members of the Macaroni Club[6] in London at the height of the fashion for dandyism, so called because they wore striped silks upon their return from the Grand Tour - and a feather in their hats. They also wore two fob watches: "one to tell what time it was and the other to tell what time it was not" ran their joking explanation. Their love of horse racing at Cheltenham and Bibury (both in England) can still be recognised today in the names of the 18th Century Macaroni Farm and Macaroni Woods near Eastleach, Gloucestershire, UK. The verse implies that Yankees were so unsophisticated that they thought simply sticking a feather in a cap would make them the height of fashion.[7] Peter McNeil, professor of fashion studies, claims the British were insinuating the colonists were womanish and not very masculine.[8]"

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

From Wikipedia

Yankee Doodle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The term Doodle first appeared in the early seventeenth century,[4] and is thought to be derived from the Low German dudel, meaning “playing music badly” or Dödel, meaning "fool" or "simpleton". The Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion in the 1770s and became contemporary slang for foppishness.[5] Dandies were young English men who adopted feminine mannerisms and highly extravagant attire, and were deemed effeminate.[citation needed]

They were members of the Macaroni Club[6] in London at the height of the fashion for dandyism, so called because they wore striped silks upon their return from the Grand Tour - and a feather in their hats. They also wore two fob watches: "one to tell what time it was and the other to tell what time it was not" ran their joking explanation. Their love of horse racing at Cheltenham and Bibury (both in England) can still be recognised today in the names of the 18th Century Macaroni Farm and Macaroni Woods near Eastleach, Gloucestershire, UK. The verse implies that Yankees were so unsophisticated that they thought simply sticking a feather in a cap would make them the height of fashion.[7] Peter McNeil, professor of fashion studies, claims the British were insinuating the colonists were womanish and not very masculine.[8]"

Thank you Will, you never cease to amaze me

 

[Auld Phart]

Me too.

 

[Iceweasel]

I never gave it any thought.

We also sang:
Hitler was a jerk
Hitler was a jerk
Mussolini bit his wienie
Now it won't work

 

[Auld Phart]

Similar to this one,

 

[blastoff]

Today it's more like "Yankee Doodle Interior Design, LLC."

 

[g5000]

So maybe American's can explain this to me, it's confusing.

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


Why did he call a feather macaroni? Is it do you think just because it rhymes with pony? Or maybe for some other reason?

Yankee Doodle was a song which was sung by the British troops to make fun of the rebels as backward rubes.

But the rebels turned it around and made the song their own. Kind of like, "If we're so stupid, how come we are winning?"

 

[ChrisL]

So maybe American's can explain this to me, it's confusing.

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


Why did he call a feather macaroni? Is it do you think just because it rhymes with pony? Or maybe for some other reason?

I always wondered the same thing. Just another silly nonsensical song, I suppose.