I doubt they teach this song in school anymore. But, if you're as old as I am, and you learned this song in grade school music class, how many of you thought (as I did) that she'll be riding six wide horses? I was probably in Junior High before I knew what color the horses were...
#CoSoMusic
@paxterrarum
I'm guessing elementary school teachers are afraid to teach anything that makes no friggin' sense, for fear there is some hidden racist meaning, eg. "The Yellow Rose of Texas."
@AlphaCentauri
Interesting you say that. The creators of one of the best elementary music lesson book series put out a supplement on their website with alternative replacements to several songs found in their lessons. These songs recently came to light as being derogatory or otherwise problematic.
See the "important message" (PDF):
https://kid-sounds.com/index.php
@voltronic @paxterrarum
Are they objecting to "dandy" in Yankee Doodle? My understanding is that it is a man who dresses stylishly, regardless of sexual orientation. The British may have meant the song mockingly, but the colonists weren't so offended that they didn't adopt it for themselves.
@AlphaCentauri
I may be misremembering but I think "macaroni" was a contemporary slang for cool or stylish and is used in the song sarcastically to insult the Yankee dress sense.
eg "He thinks a feather in his cap is cool! Hahaha! What an idiot!"
So maybe it's that part more than the "dandy" bit that is seen as problematic, OR since as you say, it was adopted, it has just become too associated with the pro-slavery part of US history.
@voltronic
Cool. Thanks.
So I had the right reason but the wrong definition!
@AlphaCentauri @paxterrarum
@stueytheround @AlphaCentauri @paxterrarum
Yankee doodle = an idiot
Riding on a pony = can't afford a proper horse
Feather, macaroni = poor boy pretending he's rich
Dandy = I believe somewhat equivalent to 'fop'
Mind the music and the step = incapable of marching in time
With the girls be handy = mocking that no girls would want such a poor rube
@stueytheround @AlphaCentauri @paxterrarum
Mind you, there's more than a dozen other verses that were written over the years, but that's the best explanation I've found in my research. It was just meant to be highly insulting, in that these poor, dirty, ragtag local boys had no business even fighting in a war.
@stueytheround
The "Maccaroni" were members of an upper-crust men's fashion movement that incorporated feathers from exotic birds in their expensive outfits.
@AlphaCentauri @paxterrarum