WELDING LINKS: YANKEE DOODLE GETS LAST LAUGH by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG <[email protected]> Yankee Doodle went to town A-riding on a pony Stuck a feather in his hat And called it macaroni. "Yankee Doodle" is perhaps the most popular song from the American Revolution. While several European nations claim ownership of the tune, the song became famous as a march of the American Patriots during the Revolutionary War. The original words of the song are attributed to Dr. Richard Shuckburgh (whose surname is spelled variously), a surgeon on the staff of the British Army. It is claimed that he wrote the verses in 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a joke about the American colonial militiamen's lack of polish and discipline. "Macaroni" was a reference to a fancy-dressing Italian, a style which was widely imitated in England at the time. Thus, by sticking just a feather in his cap and calling himself a "Macaroni" (a dandy), Yankee Doodle was showing himself to be a country bumpkin, which is, of course, how the English regarded the American colonists. However, the American colonists turned the joke around and wrote their own verses. As Britain's General Lord Charles Cornwallis' army marched to surrender to General George Washington on October 19, 1781, it was the American version of "Yankee Doodle" they heard. Happy Independence Day, and here's to our ancestors who made it possible. * * * * * Editor-at-Fault: Julia M. Case Co-Editor-to-Blame: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG Extracted from the Missing Links Newsletter