I was thrilled and felt so patriotic when I ushered my two young grandchildren into my room and had them listen to the song “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” It was playing on the TCM channel with James Cagney dancing up a storm!
I sang my heart out knowing all the lyrics to the song in the movie produced by the Warner Brothers in 1942.They hummed along with me as I gave them a wee bit of history explaining how the term “Yankee” was derogatory and used against the colonists who were seeking their independence exactly 250 years ago this past Saturday.
It is believed that the term “Yankee” originated in the 17th century from Dutch colonists in New Netherland. They were actually mocking the English settlers in neighboring Connecticut.
I couldn’t think of any other way to show our allegiance to the American flag then on the 4th of July, also known as Independence Day. The grandkids knew about the Declaration of Independence and how my home town of Philadelphia played such a role in the creation of the nation.
They also liked the image of the three band leaders playing a flute, a base drum and a regular drum. The man in the center has white hair (like me) while the soldier on the right is playing the flute. A teenage boy accompanies the patriots as they march along.
I am hoping that someday that Jameson and Denalia both get to watch the entire movie and enjoy all of the songs, including the patriotic ones such as “It’s a Grand Old Flag” and my other favorite George M. Cohan song “Over There.”
“The Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming and we won’t come back ’til the war is over, over there.”
Contoveros 
These sound like very special teaching and connecting moments, Michael. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday.
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It was joyful to come together and celebrate by adding a little bit of history to the festivities. Thanks!
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The following are comments exchanged on Next Door
Elizabeth McKee,
Trappe, PA
That is a great movie and song!!
Michael J Contos
Conshohocken
Elizabeth
I watch that movie just about every year and enjoy seeing James Cagney, who played a ruthless criminal in his past movies, appear in such a delightful dance show!
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Nancy Patterson
Conshohocken/Whitemarsh
Michael J
Yes, seems incongruous, doesn’t it?! He was quite the tap dancer!
Michael J Contos
Conshohocken
Nancy
James Cagney actually was a star in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” by Shakespeare and acted as the head of a dance troupe. He was turned into a donkey by the character Puck. Never had the chance to say “On top of the World. Ma!”
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Susan Stein
Ambler / Lower Gwynedd
My parents had the 78-rpm album. I played that & “Annie Get Your Gun” constantly growing up.
Michael J Contos
Conshohocken
Susan
Both are classics. “Anything You Can Do“ and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” are two of my favorites that Betty Hutton offered the world.
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Where is the “like” button? 👍🏼
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Not working right now and I hope to get it re-install soon. In the mean time, I’ll take your message that you liked this post!
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Yes! I absolutely did!
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Still can’t figure it out even with assistance from WordPress navigator. However, the “rate this” button is showing on the blog post when read on my Cell Phone. I clicked it for you!
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