Music has always been a powerful way for people to express their thoughts. Sometimes songs are written and sung to tell about things that make us happy, sad, or angry. The Bill of Rights gives us this right for freedom of expression. Sometimes songs are written to protest, or complain about, rules or people that we think are unfair.

The song “Yankee Doodle” was first sung by the British about the colonists. A “doodle” was a person who wasn’t very smart. “Macaroni” was another word for a well-dressed man. Sing the words to this song to figure out how the British felt about the colonists. It’s interesting to note that during the Revolutionary War, the Patriots liked that song and sung it proudly about themselves.

Read the titles of some songs sung during the Revolutionary War era. Can you figure out if they might have represented freedom of expression or protest?

“War and Washington” (p.35)
“General Burgoyne’s Surrender” (about a British officer who lost a major battle) (p.35)
“God Save the King” (p.36)
“The Yankey’s Return from Camp” (p.70)
A song about the Tories (p.72)

Song titles taken from If you Lived at the Time of the American Revolution
(Kay Moore)