The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-27
YANKEE DOODLE.
Merits of the National Tune That Still
Survive

survive.
The superior court OF Boston has hand.
ed down Il learned opinion in which
Yankee Doodle is declared not to be
n sacred tune. From the musical stand
point the decision of the court cannot he
impeached; for scarcely another nation
the world over has such a trashy song
among its national airs. But despite its
cheap musical effect, its slangy words,
and even its British origin, Yankee
Doodle will always he to every patriotic
American Il truly sacred tune-sacred
with the memories of the ragged Cont
nentals who marched ana fought and
bled and died to its lively strains from
fife and drum.
DR.. Frederic Louis Ritter, who him
self gets out of patience with the music
of yankee Doodle''in his valuable work
on "Music inAmerca, h..relates. neverthe-
less an amusing little anccdotc in which
the redoubtablc Macaroni with II feather
in his hat, makes IL characteristic figure.
In the year 1888 the st. Cecilia Society
sought to establish public appreciation
of classical music in New York. When
small band of seven or eight musicians
one night attem pied to play in the thea
tire II part of IL Haydn symphony the
gods" i'll the gallery cried out: stop
that noise give us 'Bonypart Crossing
the Rhine, 'Washington's March'or Yam
kee Doodle. " At the close of the revo-
lutionary war the love for military airs
was quite intense. Not only was yam
kee Doodle great favorte, bur the
Franklin-inspired Sea Ira WhiteCock-
| AIDE, "'French March, "''Iessian Camp
'Duke of York's March," Baron Steu.
ben's March" AMI many other marches
almost proved by their overwhelming
numbers that as DR.. Ritter explains,
"iighting was still in the air.. - Bill Bill
ings, the Yankee composer, who.invcnted
the wel-known psalm tune "Chcstcr,"
had written many inspiring patriotic
hymns. AS has been said: conc Sc
cret no doubt, of the vast popularity
Billings works obtained was the'patriotic
ardor they br' athed; and his tune 'Ches-
ter was frequently heard from every fife in
the New England ranks The spirit of
revolution was also manifest in his
Lamentations Over Boston, his Retro
spect his Independence, his 'Colum-
bia' and many other pieces
But Yankee Doodle has yet survived
the best efforts of all old-tm Yankee
psalm tune smitcrs' and ''cornstalk
iiddlers,' as the British soldiers sncer-
lngly styled them. AS II melody it has
little beyond simplicity in its favor but
there is quaint, direct and incsive
character about it which redeems it from
vulgarity. In its own rolicking words:
1t suits for feasts, it suits for fun,
And just as we'll for fighting.
The tune of ''Yan kee Doodle is GER
tainly of English origin, and is not older
than the middle of the last century.
Tradition ascribed the words to one DR..
Schucksburg, SURGEON in General Am.
hersts command during the French and
Indian war. The British regulars made
butt of humor of the colonial contin-
gent. According to Que account ''Dr.
Schucksburg recommended the tune to
the colonial officers as one of the most
celebrated airs of the martial music
The Joke took to the no small amusement
OF the British corps. Brother Jonathan
exclaimed that it was nation fine and in
few days nothing was heard in the pro.
vincial camp but the air of Yankee Do
die '"-Philadelphia Record