Yankee Doodle? Macaroni?

Question

I'm a little unclear on the whole Yankee Doodle, feather, hat, & "macaroni" thing.
The popular American song from the 18th century says,

Yankee Doodle came to town
Riding on a pony;
He stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy;
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.

So what did he call "macaroni"?
Was it the hat, the feather, or his horse?
And, more importantly, WHY did he call it "macaroni"?

I've lost a lot of sleep over this one for over 50 years.
It is truly one of the mysteries of the universe.
Why would he call his hat "macaroni"?
.

Answer 1

YOU WASTED 50 YEARS OVER THIS-----DON'T YOU THINK THAT'S NONSENSE????

AB

Answer 2

when he stuck the feather in his hat he called the fashion statement macaroni......read this
A macaroni, in mid-18th-century England, was a fashionable fellow who dressed and even spoke in an outlandishly affected manner. The term pejoratively referred to a person who exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion in terms of clothes, fastidious eating and gambling.

Answer 3

macaroni is the feather and the british made it up during the american revolutoin to mock the americans but the americans liked it and would sing. i guess macaroni meant something else back then.

Answer 4

GO here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Doodle

Then here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroni_%28fashion%29

Answer 5

and now we both know. I myself have lost sleep wondering about that..I try to keep it out of my mind so I wouldn't go out of mine thanks for your help

Answer 6

cuz he's italian