Traditional lore suggests that Richard Shuckburgh, a British Army physician, penned the lyrics to “Yankee Doodle” as early as 1755, during the French and Indian War. Hildebrand believes otherwise. He argues that the memorable lines “Yankee Doodle went to town, / Riding on a pony” date to the mid-19th century.
The earliest known mention of the words “pony,” “feather” and “macaroni” in a rendition of “Yankee Doodle” appears in English writer James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps’ The Nursery Rhymes of England, published in 1842. “It’s a folk song by definition,” says Hildebrand, “meaning it just sort of came from the people somewhere.”
Over the centuries, historians have proposed no fewer than 16 explanations for the creation of “Yankee Doodle.” These theories range from the Shuckburgh story to the suggestion that the song originated as a ditty poking fun at Oliver Cromwell, England’s lord protector during the 1650s. Other accounts trace “Yankee Doodle” to Hungary, Ireland or the Netherlands. When librarian and musicologist Oscar Sonneck set out to examine these theories in the 1970s, however, he found that none held up under scrutiny.
“Indeed, the origin of ‘Yankee Doodle’ remains as mysterious as ever, unless it be deemed a positive result to have eliminated definitely almost every theory thus far advanced and thus by the process of elimination to have paved the way for an eventual solution of the puzzle,” Sonneck wrote in a 1972 report.
“Yankee Doodle” as a patriotic anthem
While the early history of “Yankee Doodle” is obscure, the song was indisputably in circulation by the 1760s. The composition’s catchy and upbeat melody, as well as its quick rhythmic pattern and repetition, made it easily recognizable—an ideal quality in a protest song.
The symbolism of “Yankee Doodle” “was so great that in the various occupations of cities during the Revolution, the terms of surrender often included whose band could play ‘Yankee Doodle’ and whose band couldn’t,” Hildebrand says. “So, if you lost and were surrendering a city, the British could play ‘Yankee Doodle’ against you, but you weren’t allowed to play it back.”
The composition’s status as a protest song continued over the centuries. Confederate soldiers sang variations of it during the Civil War to make fun of Union soldiers, and vice versa. “Yankee Doodle” was also prevalent during the War of 1812. It eventually became an enduring symbol of patriotism, and American playwright George M. Cohan revived the tune as “The Yankee Doodle Boy” in his 1904 Broadway show, Little Johnny Jones.