Getting Ready
Because people didn't have tape recorders, MP3s, or other ways to record sound during the Revolutionary War, it's hard to know what kind of songs people sang. But one very famous song has been passed down from generation to generation. "Yankee Doodle" started as a song that the British used to make fun of Americans. The words put down rag-tag colonial soldiers who dared to challenge their more professional and polished British counterparts.

By the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Patriots had turned the song around, writing their own lyrics and singing them to taunt British troops. Legend has it that General Lafayette, a French Marquis, even made sure that "Yankee Doodle" was sung at the surrender of Yorktown, as an extra insult to the losing British general.

There have been many different versions of the song, some with dozens of verses. In the 1940s, Yankee Doodle was even made into a Broadway tune by George M. Cohan. The most familiar version of the song begins:

Yankee Doodle went to town
Riding on a pony;
Stuck a feather in his cap
And called it macaroni.

Today, we're not even sure what the words mean. What do you think?

Activity
Write your own song or rap about something related to the Revolutionary War or ideas like independence, liberty, or sacrifice. Or write your own verses to "Yankee Doodle".

Think More About It

If you want to hear other songs that people wrote about the beginning of the nation, try to find a recording of the Broadway musical "1776."