Historical Folk Lyrics
"Yankee Doodle"

Father and I went down to camp
Along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

There was Captain Washington
Upon a slapping stallion
A-giving orders to his men
I guess there was a million.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

And then the feathers on his hat
They looked so' tarnal fin-a
I wanted pockily to get
To give to my Jemima.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

And then we saw a swamping gun
Large as a log of maple
Upon a deuced little cart
A load for father's cattle.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

And every time they shoot it off
It takes a horn of powder
It makes a noise like father's gun
Only a nation louder.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

I went as nigh to one myself
As' Siah's underpinning
And father went as nigh agin
I thought the deuce was in him.
We saw a little barrel, too
The heads were made of leather
They knocked upon it with little clubs
And called the folks together.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

And there they'd fife away like fun
And play on cornstalk fiddles
And some had ribbons red as blood
All bound around their middles.
The troopers, too, would gallop up
And fire right in our faces
It scared me almost to death
To see them run such races.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

Uncle Sam came there to change
Some pancakes and some onions
For' lasses cake to carry home
To give his wife and young ones.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

But I can't tell half I see
They kept up such a smother
So I took my hat off, made a bow
And scampered home to mother.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

Cousin Simon grew so bold
I thought he would have cocked it
It scared me so I streaked it off
And hung by father's pocket.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

And there I saw a pumpkin shell
As big as mother's basin
And every time they touched it off
They scampered like the nation.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

Other Verses:

And there was Captain Washington,
With gentlefolks about him,
They say he's gown so 'tarnal proud
He will not ride without them.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.

There came Gen'ral Washington
Upon a snow-white charger
He looked as big as all outdoors
And thought that he was larger.
Yankee doodle, keep it up
Yankee doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy.