Editing Work song (section)

===Agricultural work songs===
Most agricultural work songs were [[rhythm]]ic, [[a cappella]] [[song]]s intended to increase productivity while reducing feelings of boredom.<ref name=Peek2004>P. M. Peek and K. Yankah, ''African Folklore: An Encyclopedia'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 2004), p. 520.</ref> Rhythms of work songs, similar to an African drum beat, served to synchronize physical movement in groups, coordinating sowing, hoeing, and harvesting.<ref name=Peek2004/> The usage of verses in work songs were sometimes improvised and sung differently each time. Improvisation provided singers with a subversive form of expression. [[Slavery|Enslaved people]] sang improvised verses to mock their overseers, express frustrations, and share dreams of escaping. Many work songs served to create connection and familiarity between workers.

[[Yankee Doodle]] is thought to have started out as a harvest song, its words possibly originating from farmers in 15th century [[Holland]]. It contained mostly nonsensical and out-of-place words that were presumably sung to a similar—if not the same—tune: "Yanker, didel, doodle down, Diddle, dudel, lanther, Yanke viver, voover vown, ''Botermilk'' und ''tanther''." Farm laborers in Holland at the time received as their wages "as much [[buttermilk]] (''Botermilk'') as they could drink, and a tenth (''tanther'') of the grain".<ref name=immortal>{{cite book | last = Banks | first = Louis Albert | title = Immortal Songs of Camp and Field: The Story of Their Inspiration, Together with Striking Anecdotes Connected with Their History | url = https://archive.org/details/immortalsongsca00bankgoog | publisher = Burrows Brothers Company | year = 1898 | page = [https://archive.org/details/immortalsongsca00bankgoog/page/n29 44]}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/04/opinion/yankee-doodle-dandy.html Yankee Doodle Dandy], ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref><ref name=encyclo>{{cite book | last = Elson | first = Louis Charles | title = University Musical Encyclopedia: A history of music | volume = 2 | page = 82 | year = 1912}}</ref>