Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1862-05-30
MISCELIA ANY.
Songs and Song -Writers.---16.

In an English opera, popular about the
middle Of the eighteenth century, called the
{" Beggar's Opera" if we remember rightly,
written by DR.. Arne, will be found the CON-
ic song of " Little Dickey," person who
resents the arrogance and attempted iyran-
ny of some older body, in the following
words -
Did little Hickey ever trick ye,
No I'm always civil.
Then why should you, for my politeness,
Wish to the devil!
Noodle, dccde, agly mnnsl
lIerc'sa pretty rig, sir
Daggers, pistols, swords and guns
O., IN hop the twis sirn
The air of this song is what we call
Yankee Doodle. 1t is not, however, called
by that name in the opera, nor is it attended
by any indications of the source from which
it was borrowed. 1t may have been se-
lecicd by DIR. Arne because it was suited 10
the character of the words; and it was prob
ably then an old melody, perhaps a popular
one, which he picked up about the streets
of London, and to which he gave cur
rency, somewhat like " Old Dan Tucker"
or 0 Susanna in our day.
There was an old song, written in ridicule
of the Protector, which began with this
line-"The Roundheads and the Cavaliers"
Another set of words to the same tune was
entitled Nankee Doodle, and ran thus =
s'Nankee Doodle came to town
Upon little pony;
With feather in his hat
Upon a naearoni'
This verse intended to satarize Cromwell,
coming into town upon little pony, with
feather in his hat upon macaroni," sounds
very much like nonsense but when we un-
derstand Nankee Doodle as sorry, trifing
fellow, and macaronf as the knot in the hat
band, in which the feather was placed, the
meaning is at once perceived, and would
give us reason 10 suppose that the Puriians
were acquainted with the song, and that
they might have brought the air with them
from the mother country.
Mr.. Losing says ;-' In the time of the
Roundheads-the period of CromweRs
Proleetorae--wben Italian fashions being
introduced into England, were ridiculed by
The satirists and preached against by the
Puritan clergy, we find the following verse
to the same tune. Here we have Yankee
Ia ~, G. III
"Yankce Doodle came to town
Upon a Kentish pony;
lie stuck a feather In his hat
Aud calico him Macaroni.'
Macaroni, at that time, signifed dandy
with Italian fashions. Some have supposed
that it was written by royalist to saiirize
Cromwell, who wore feather in his hat"
1t has been said that The air of Yankee
Doodle was common in New England be-
fore the revolution, but known as " Lydia
Fishers Jig" The first supposed Ameri-
can parody upon the original, which we
have seen, was entitled Lydia Fisher. =
An aged and respectable lady, born in New
England many years ago. told us that she
remembered the song well, and that it was
common here before the revolution, but
she thought it was an English song, though
she had heard it claimed as American and
the tune she knew was a favorite New
England jig. The words, as the old lady re-
membered them, commenced -
Lydia Locket lost her pocket,
Lydia Fisher found it;
Not bit of money in it,
uniy binding round itn
1t is known that as early as the lime OF
Charles the First, nursery song had the
same words; and therefore we may with
more safety adopt the belief that the song
came over with the Pilgrims. Certain it is,
that within our own recollection, tie girls
and boys of Massachusetts had something
like it in their sports but the version was
a little different from the old ady's, and ran
thus -
Lydia LocSet lost her pocket,
In a rainy shower;
Philip Carterit he arter IT,
And found it in hour
1t is curious to note the many songs writ
ten and claimed as Yankee Doodle. The
Poughkeepsie IN. " Eagle lately quoted
a verse of poem commencing
Once a time old johnny Bui'
Ito show the correct metre) and spoke Of it
as the original song" This is an error.
The song, from which the B1gte editor quo
ted, was written by George z. Morris, and
is entitled " The Origin of Yankee Doodle"
nothing more. 1t was written for and sung
by the Hutchinson family, and will be found
in the latest edition of Morris's Poems.-
Dir. Morris did not pretend that his poem
was the original Yankee Doodle, and it is
strange that any one should suppose the
original of SO little antiquity.
When Father Kemp's company were
giving concerts in Europe, (S6l,) the " Di-
artist in London" speakingo of Yankee Doo-
die, as sung by the American troupe, said,
the text was very much changed, for The
,-a,., from, thot which General RurGovne