YANKEE DOODLE is the first song printed (of at least 127 songs) in “Little House in the Big Woods,” the first in the the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Many are folk songs and hymns of the time and in the books, most of the songs are played by Pa on his fiddle.  Laura often gives just a few of the lyrics as a memory from a scene in the book.

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Little House in the Big Woods
Book 1 in LITTLE HOUSE series
Written by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Includes Songs with Words and Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Garth Williams
ISBN 978-0-06+440001-5

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YANKEE DOODLE appears on p. 36-38 of my paperback copy of the book, with these lyrics:

YANKEE DOODLE
Traditional Words and Tune

Yankee Doodle went to town,
He wore his striped trousies,
He swore he couldn’t see the town,
There was so many houses.

And there he saw some great big guns,
Big as a log of maple,
And every time they turned ‘em round,
It took two yoke of cattle.

And every time they fired ‘em off,
It took a horn of power,
It made a noise like father’s gun,
Only a nation louder.

And I’ll sing Yankee Doodle-de-do,
And I’ll sing Yankee Doodle,
And I’ll sing Yankee Doodle-de-do,
And I’ll sing Yankee Doodle!

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If you can’t remember the tune, I’m a big fan of this instrumental:

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For my money, there’s nothing more fun than a fife and drum playing YANKEE DOODLE

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Yankee Doodle, seemingly a simple and ubiquitous song, is actually sung to an ancient tune, to which hundreds of songs and verses have been written, and which has an amazingly long, rich, and historically significant history.

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Library of Congress page for YANKEE DOODLE

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/lyrical/songs/yankee_doodle.html

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From the “Let It Fly” blog, a post about “Yankee Doodle”

http://usflagstore.blogspot.com/2011/11/yankee-doodle-history.html

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YANKEE DOODLE wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Doodle

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YANKEE DOODLE song history from About.com

http://folkmusic.about.com/od/folksongs/qt/YankeeDoodle.htm

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A bit of YANKEE DOODLE info here, regarding its history as a song of the American Revolution (plus a set of lyrics):

http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/music.htm

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Song info from globalia.net:

http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/songs/Yankee_Doodle.html

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Great article from Kenndy Center’s ArtsEdge site, with historical info and audio and visual support materials:

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/features/story-behind-the-song/yankee-doodle.aspx

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YANKEE DOODLE is the state song of Connecticut:

http://www.cslib.org/yankeedoodle.htm

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EarlyAmerica.com article on YANKEE DOODLE

http://www.earlyamerica.com/music/yankee-doodle.htm

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Informative article here with line by line lyrical analysis:

http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/yankee.html

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Neatorama fun facts (including great doodle-macaroni images) here:

http://www.neatorama.com/2010/07/04/yankee-doodle-fun-facts/

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BensGuide.gov info page for YANKEE DOODLE, here:

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/yankee.html

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Info about YANKEE DOODLE and activity idea, here:

http://www.libertyskids.com/pt_activities_yankeedoodle.html

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A dazzling set of the Connecticut State Song YANKEE DOODLE lyrics, here:

http://www.connecticutsar.org/articles/yankee_doodle.htm

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In depth YANKEE DOODLE info over a number of tabs, here:

http://www.shmoop.com/yankee-doodle/

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YANKEE DOODLE in Singable Picture Books

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Pop! Goes the Weasel and Yankee Doodle (New York City in 1776 and Today, with Songs and Pictures)
Traditional Words and Tunes
Words Adapted and Text by Robert Quackenbush
Illustrated by Robert Quackenbush
Includes adaptations of the songs:
POP GOES THE WEASEL
YANKEE DOODLE

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Read, Sing, Play ABC Sing-Along
Words Adapted by Teddy Slater
Illustrated by Liisa Chauncy Guida
Letter E
Sing to the tune of  “Yankee Doodle”

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Yankee Doodle
Traditional Music
Words by Dr. Richard Shackburg
Illustrated with Woodcuts by Ed Emberley

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Yankee Doodle (A Song from the American Revolution)
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Todd Ouren
(This book features printed music, a page of song history, and activity ideas)

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Yankee Doodle
Traditional Words and Tune
Words Adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman
Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

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Yankee Doodle (A Revolutionary Tail)
Traditional tune
Traditional words
Illustrated by Gary Chalk

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Yankee Doodle (Steven Kellogg’s)
Traditional Tune
Words by Edward Bangs
Illustrated by Steven Kellogg

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Yankee Doodle



Singable Picture Book Video from www.Speakaboos.com
Speakaboos YouTube Page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/speakaboos

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Yankee Doodle America
Sing to the Tune of ABC Song
Text by Wendell Minor
Illustrated by Wendell Minor

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America’s Song: The Story of ‘Yankee Doodle’
By Stuart Murray

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The Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme for “Lucy Locket” uses the same tune at Yankee Doodle:

Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher found it;
Not a penny was there in it,
Only ribbon round it.

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A friend told me once that almost all Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes can be sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle.”  So if you want to sing a rhyme and don’t know the tune, give this trick a try.

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For the full list of songs from the LITTLE HOUSE series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder:

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LITTLE HOUSE SONGS: LAURA INGALLS WILDER – SONGS OF THE LITTLE HOUSE BOOKS
Songs of the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/songs-of-the-little-house-books-by-laura-ingalls-wilder/

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Music for YANKEE DOODLE can be found in this book which is a collection of printed music mentioned in LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS and FARMER BOY (by Laura Ingalls Wilder),

Laura’s Music: Songs from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Books
Music from “Little House in the Big Woods” and “Farmer Boy”
Edited by Dale Cockrell
Published by A-R Editions, Inc.
ISBN 978-0-89579-747-6
Book Code: LM1 (This link includes song list)

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YANKEE DOODLE is also a useful tune in the public domain.  You can set many a delightful verse to the tune of YANKEE DOODLE, including LUCY LOCKET and almost any Mother Goose or Nursery Rhyme.

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Oscar Brand used YANKEE DOODLE as the tune for his wonderful SONG OF THE PRESIDENTS:

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Song of the Presidents
Words by Oscar Brand
Sing to the Tune of Yankee Doodle
Book Assembled by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus

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Related Posts

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YANKEE DOODLE IN SINGABLE PICTURE BOOKS

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/little-house-songs-yankee-doodle/

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“Read, Sing, Play ABC Sing-Along,” A Singable Book, Letter E (tune of Yankee Doodle)

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/%E2%80%9Cread-sing-play-abc-sing-along%E2%80%9D-a-singable-book-letter-e/
This post features a version of “Yankee Doodle” that appears in “Little House in the Big Woods”

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LITTLE HOUSE SONGS: LAURA INGALLS WILDER – SONGS OF THE LITTLE HOUSE BOOKS
Songs of the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/songs-of-the-little-house-books-by-laura-ingalls-wilder/

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EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
A list of SPBs with fun and sneakily educational content.  The kids won’t even know they’re learning!

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/singable-picture-books-with-sneaky-educational-content/

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FOURTH OF JULY AND OTHER HOLIDAYS CELEBRATING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HER CITIZENS AND HISTORY
A list of Patriotic Singable Picture Books

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/a-patriotic-list-of-singable-books-for-july-4th/

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USEFUL TUNES IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/useful-tunes-in-the-public-domain/