This jaunty ditty with the seemingly silly words has a long and rich history. The first version may have been a Middle-Dutch harvest song with nonsensical lyrics, (Yanker, didel, doodle down..). A “dodel” was a fool or simpleton. The British called a man who placed exaggerated importance on appearance, language and leisure, a “dandy”. In the 1770’s, the most extreme fops who affected mincing manners, beauty spots and spoke in an outlandishly effeminate manner, were called “macaroni’s”. The British sang this song to mock the Americans as country bumpkins who thought that sticking a feather in their caps would make them fashionable. The Americans gleefully sang the song back at the British when Cornwallis surrendered the colonies to them in 1776. It has since become a patriotic anthem.   Tabbed by Fred Altensee.

TAB

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