Delete comment from: Boston 1775
Oh, I have no doubt the British noticed--and cared, too. Music at this time had a language all its own. The late Arthur Schrader called this "emotional baggage," a term best explained in a new publication from Keller and Hildebrand, "Music of the War of 1812 in America" (I know, wrong war, but it really explains this concept well), and Yankee Doodle is a prime example of that.
In any event, if the British heard "Yankee Doodle" during their hazardous return to Boston (and according to period newspaper accounts, they did indeed), I have no doubt they were quite bitter about it.
Also, while 100% proof remains sealed in the graves of Rev War fifers (and drummers), it is quite plausible that Josiah Adams and his deponent were onto something, even 50 years after the fact. It was a tune that had certainly been around for at least 20-odd years before the war, and in identifying, collating, and cataloging the fife music (not fiddle or flute music)that survives from the Rev War, this would have been one of the "Top Ten Tunes of the Revolution," if counting the number of times it appears in surviving fifers' manuscripts has any value.
Apr 8, 2013, 8:20:50 PM
Posted to The Patriots Day Season Has Begun