According to Wikipedia, the song was written on a train ride into New York.  Of course, James Cagney’s Yankee Doodle Dandy version is a bit different.  Either way, ALL of us Yanks should be singing this every time our boys take the field, and hoping they perform as well as our boys did in 1917.

You can watch the video below, but of course only the chorus is used.  The lyrics in their entirety follow.

As sung by early-20th century recording artist Billy Murray:

Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.

Take it on the run, on the run, on the run.

Hear them calling you and me,

Every Son of Liberty.

Hurry right away, no delay, go today.

Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad.

Tell your sweetheart not to pine,

To be proud her boy’s in line.

Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun,

Johnny, show the “Hun” you’re a son-of-a-gun.

Hoist the flag and let her fly.

Yankee Doodle do or die.

Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit.

Yankee to the ranks from the towns and the tanks.

Make your Mother proud of you

And the old red-white-and-blue

Chorus

Over there, over there,

NEWPORT BEACH, CA (March 2009) – Socially conscious soccer ball producer Little Feet has announced that it has partnered with the two largest US Men’s National Soccer Team support groups, Sam’s Army and the American Outlaws, to produce the official US Men’s National Team Supporter Shirt for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. For every shirt sold, Little Feet has pledged to donate a soccer ball to an underprivileged child in South Africa during the World Cup.

Since 2006, Little Feet has donated a soccer ball to a needy child for every ball sold through its Web site. True to its “one for one” business model, for every World Cup shirt sold, Little Feet will continue its philanthropic mission by donating a soccer ball to underprivileged children across South Africa during the World Cup. In July, the organization plans on delivering the balls to various schools, orphanages, and other organizations throughout the country.

Returning to Africa for the first time since visiting Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya in April 2009, Little Feet is eager to leave its mark on South Africa. “With all the hype of the World Cup, it’s easy to forget that there are 2.5 million orphans in South Africa and two-thirds of the children are living below the ‘one dollar per day’ international poverty line,” says Little Feet founder and president Trevor Slavick. “This is an easy and fun way to try and help some of these kids and a reminder for us all that more needs to be done.”

John O’Brien—former member of the US Men’s National Team during the 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Cups and the 2000 Summer Olympics—and Frankie Hejduk, who has been a member of the US Men’s National team since 1996, enthusiastically endorse the project on the Little Feet website.

Emblazoned with a peace sign superimposed on the continent of Africa and the logos of Little Feet, Sam’s Army, and the American Outlaws, it is made of 100% cotton and printed with eco-friendly inks. It is available in “Match Day Red” (in Men’s, Women’s and Youth sizes), and “Pub-Crawl Gray” (in Adult sizes only) at www.littlefeet.com/worldcup.

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About the shirts:

Little Feet T-shirts are 100% cotton and printed using water based Eco-friendly inks. The shirt comes in two colors; red and grey. The red shirts are game day shirts (Sea of Red) and have the number 10 (reference to 2010 World Cup) printed on the back. The number 1 has ‘Sam’s Army’ printed multiple times and the zero has ‘American Outlaws’ printed multiple times. ‘Little Feet’ is printed over the top of the numbers to complete the jersey look. The red shirt is available in men’s, women’s and youth sizes. Please note, youth sizes are American Apparel sizes 8, 10, and 12.

The grey shirt is a classic vintage print and does not have the game day number on the back. It has a vintage look and the artwork has been purposely distressed. Grey shirts are only available in adult sizes. Adult shirts shrink a tad but run very true to size, so if you are on the cusp, we recommend going for the larger size.

The colors on the front of the shirt are the colors of the South African flag. The logos of Sam’s Army, American Outlaws and Little Feet are represented inside of Africa and are divided similarly to the triangular division of the South African flag. “We’re In” over South Africa does not need any explanation. We’re going to the cup!

About Little Feet

Little Feet is a social enterprise that gives underprivileged children the chance to play “the Beautiful Game” by providing them with new, high-quality soccer balls. Founded upon the “one for one” model, it donates a ball to a needy child for each one sold. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, it has shared its passion for soccer with disadvantaged children and schools around the world since its inception in March 2006.

For the first time in soccer history, adidas has created a kit giving players such as Lionel Messi, Michael Ballack, Andres Guardado, Steven Pienaar and Xavi the opportunity to select a combination of technology, fit and comfort from 22 different jersey combinations.  The new range will ensure players look unified in their team design while also providing a freedom to choose a preferred fit and technology.

One of the selection options is the TECHFIT PowerWeb jersey.  Until recently, TECHFIT PowerWeb has been more commonly worn under a player’s uniform as compression apparel; but the new adidas kits offer TECHFIT built into the actual jersey giving players a performance advantage in a single layer.

TECHFIT PowerWEB is a cutting edge athletic apparel design that reduces muscle vibration to maximize power, acceleration and endurance.  Through the use of compression fabrics and applied TPU bands in specific areas, TECHFIT is proven to increase a player’s power by 5.3 per cent*, vertical leap by 4 percent*, sprint speed by 1.1 per cent* and enhance endurance by 0.8 per cent*.   The adidas 2010 FIFA World Cup TECHFIT jerseys worn as a single layer are 45 percent lighter than wearing two pieces together.

The second 2010 FIFA World Cup jersey option is the FORMOTION uniform, which features optimised garment construction with sculpted sleeve openings to accommodate maximum freedom of movement.  It also features adidas CLIMACOOL technology which combines a moisture wicking fabric and mesh construction in the player’s highest heat zones to improve body ventilation and keep the athlete at optimum temperature.  The FORMOTION uniform is designed to partner with traditional TECHFIT PowerWEB compression apparel.

The TECHFIT jersey as worn by the players on the pitch will retail for $150 and the authentic replica jersey will retail for $70.

adidas, the number one soccer brand in the world, is the official FIFA sponsor, supplier and licensee of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  A rich product portfolio designed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will include innovative footwear, apparel and hardware including the Official Match Ball which will be unveiled on December 4^th, 2009 in Capetown, South Africa at the Official World Cup Draw Show.  The adidas/FIFA partnership has been in existence since 1970.

* Proven research from adidas Global Research and the University of Calgary.