[Ads-l] rebel yell and yeehaw

[Jonathan Lighter]

Another early Yeehah!

"The Cumberland Three" was a folk-pop band of the Kingston Trio sort. In
1960 they released a pair of LPs of souped-up Civil War songs on the
Roulette label: "Civil War Almanac: 'Yankees,' Vol. 1" and "...'Rebels,'
Vol. 2."

On track B3 of the latter album, an extreme "Yeehah!" is specifically
identified as "the rebel yell."

The Cumberland Three, as far as I can tell, hailed from the West Coast.

JL

On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 4:45 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: rebel yell and yeehaw
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Now there's a whole book on the subject:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/The-Rebel-Yell-Cultural-History/dp/0817318488
>
> Nothing linguistically new here, though there's a lot of discussion of the
> yell as a primary postbellum cultural symbol that seems to have been ousted
> by the Confederate battle flag (actually, naval flag) only during the Civil
> Rights Movement.
>
> Professor Warren's bulleted "key observations" include:
>
> "As early as the summer of 1861 Southern screeching had occurred in both
> major theaters of the war. ...
>
> "The Rebel yell seemingly lacked words, word sounds, rhyme, and any
> coherent rhythm....
>
> "The yell resulted from bodies of men screeching in unison. The collective
> effort created greater volume and complexity than could be achieved by any
> one soldier...."
>
> Etc. He also cites and dismisses claims that the yell originated at Troy,
> in Britain or Ireland, among the Mongols, or in the ululations of Muslim
> Spain.  Maybe Indian war-whoops contributed, maybe they didn't. Maybe slave
> shouts too, but maybe not. You just can't tell with the rebel yell;
> especially since, as Professor Warren correctly observes, there was no
> single, standard, prescribed yell at all.
>
> Prof. Warren, author of an earlier book on Civil War literature, cites a
> plethora of rebel yell information.
>
> Except, that is, for our multi-year discussion, which began in 2006.  I
> find no mention of "Yeehaw!"  antebellum mules, "Red River," Stan Freberg,
> "Doctor Strangelove," or the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment.
>
>  But there is a photo of the dust jacket of H. Allen Smith's book.
>
> JL
>
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 6:58 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: rebel yell and yeehaw
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > One day earlier in _The Oregonian_ (Portland), p. 11.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 6:44 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: rebel yell and yeehaw
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > For the record, here is the earliest "Yee-ha[w/h]!" I've seen that
> > > explicitly refers to it as a "rebel yell":
> > >
> > > 1984 Joyce Lain Kennedy in _Springfield [Mass.] Republican_ B-8: The
> next
> > > time your temper flares at the boss and you're tempted to "yee-haw!" a
> > > rebel yell, remember who lost the Civil War.
> > >
> > > That's 123 years after the start of said war.
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 10:11 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> > wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> > > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > -----------------------
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > > Subject:      Re: rebel yell and yeehaw
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > Make that "(1959)."
> > > >
> > > > JL
> > > >
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