Music Blog

I’m A Yankee Doodle Dandy

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

This week at Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag,
he’s asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month. 
Here’s my featured July artist and his song.

© Wikipedia

In honor of the Fourth of July here in The States, my featured song today is “Yankee Doodle Dandy”. The line “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” is famously sung by Jimmy Cagney in the 1941 musical biographical film Yankee Doodle Dandy.  In the film, Cagney portrays the famous songwriter and performer, George M. Cohan. The song is a celebration of American patriotism and is a key part of the movie’s narrative. Happy 4th of July!

This is “Yankee Doodle Dandy” by James (Jimmy) Cagney


LYRICS

I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam’s
Born on the Fourth of July
I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She’s my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy

I’m the kid that’s all the candy
I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
I’m glad I am
So’s Uncle Sam
I’m a real live Yankee Doodle
Made my name and fame and boodle
Just like Mister Doodle did
By riding on a pony
I love to listen to the Dixey strain
“I long to see the girl I left behind me”
And that ain’t a josh
She’s a Yankee, by gosh
Oh, say can you see
Anything about a Yankee that’s a phoney?

I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam’s
Born on the Fourth of July
I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She’s my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy

Father’s name was Hezikiah
Mother’s name was Ann Maria
Yanks through and through
Red, white and blue
Father was so Yankee hearted
When the Spanish War was started
He slipped upon his uniform
And hopped up on a pony
My mother’s mother was a Yankee true
My father’s father was a Yankee too
And that’s going some
For the Yankees, by gum
Oh, say can you see
Anything about my pedigree that’s phoney?

I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my uncle Sam’s
Born on the Fourth of July
I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She’s my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London,
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: George Cohan
Yankee Doodle Dandy lyrics © Edward B Marks Music Company

Mixed Music Bag 2025 – Heep for July

Big thanks to Glyn Wilton for hosting Mixed Music Bag each week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section, et. al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

41 thoughts on “I’m A Yankee Doodle Dandy”

  1. I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. I just thought of it a week or so go… I went through the entire MASH tv show and they had an episode with a play on words with this song…Yankee Doodle Doctor…

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  2. For some reason this song always takes me back to my first husbands family Easter dinners- I remember his dad watching this movie and knowing every word- but it made perfect sense- cuz his dad was into local theater and took tap lessons! The only part that bothers me about that very distinct memory was why the hell were they playing it on Easter?

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      1. He’s one of the actors my dad and I used to watch on the old black and white TV. My dad gave me a good education on Hollywood actors. Some of the best times of my childhood with him.

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  10. Happy fourth of July, Nancy, … and of course now you’ve done it, …🎶 I’ll be singing the Yankee doodle Dandy all the way through the house, 🎶….. hope your temperatures are down, … we’re hanging on in there about 25°C, … which is not that bad, and it’s going to be low for the next few days, … fingers crossed for you, … just in case, I’ll send some more ice cubes, ..💫🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊💫

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    1. Ciao, cara Penn! Thanks for your good wishes. It was lovely earlier this AM but has started creeping its way up. The humidity is down a bit so today won’t be as bad as yesterday. Enjoy the music and thanks for the lovely ice cubes! 🧊 🎶 ♡ 🎶 🧊

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