"The World Turned Upside Down" is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. It was first published on a

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

in the middle of the 1640s as a protest against the policies of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

relating to the celebration of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. Parliament believed the holiday should be a solemn occasion, and outlawed traditional English Christmas celebrations, which were seen as too closely associated with Catholicism. There are several versions of the lyrics. It is sung to the tune of another ballad, "

When the king enjoys his own again When the king enjoys his own again (sometimes known as The king shall enjoy his own again) is a Cavalier ballad written by Martin Parker during the English Civil War (first published in 1643). It was later adopted by Jacobites. According to the his ...

". Its origin is in the Scripture: "But the other Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. (6) And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, ''These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus''."

Acts 17 Acts 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas and Timothy. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but earl ...

:5–7

Yorktown

According to American legend, the British army band under

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

played this tune when they surrendered after the

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

(1781). Customarily, the British army would have played an American or French tune in tribute to the victors, but

General Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the ...

refused them the

honours of war The honours of war are a set of privileges that are granted to a defeated army during the surrender ceremony. The honours symbolise the valour of the defeated army, and grew into a custom during the age of early modern warfare. Typically a surren ...

and insisted that they play "a British or German march." Although American history textbooks continue to propagate the legend, the story may have been apocryphal as it first appears in the historical record a century after the surrender.

Lyrics

The following is the text found in the Thomason Tracts (669. f. 10 (47)), dated 8 April 1646. "The World Turned Upside Down" (to the tune of "When the King enjoys his own again"): Listen to me and you shall hear, news hath not been this thousand year: Since Herod,

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

, and many more, you never heard the like before. Holy-dayes are , new fashions are . Old

is out of Town. Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world upside down. The wise men did to see our Savior Christs Nativity: The Angels did good tidings bring, the did and sing. Let all honest men, take example by them. Why should we from good Laws be bound? Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world upside down. Command is given, we must obey, and quite forget old Christmas day: Kill a thousand men, or a Town regain, we will give thanks and praise amain. The wine pot shall , we will feast and . And then strange motions will abound. Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world upside down. Our Lords and

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s, and

Gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

too, doe mean old fashions to : They set a porter at the gate, that none must enter in thereat. They count it a sin, when poor people come in. Hospitality it is . Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn'd upside down. The serving men doe sit and whine, and it long ere dinner time: The Butler's still out of the way, or else my Lady keeps the key, The poor old cook, in the larder doth look, Where is no to be found, Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world upside down. To conclude, tell you news that's right, Christmas was at Naseby fight: Charity was slain at that same time, Jack Tell troth too, a friend of mine, Likewise then did die, beef and shred pie, Pig, Goose and Capon no quarter found. Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world upside down.

Recordings

This song was recorded by

Maddy Prior Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...

with The Carnival Band on their album ''

Hang Up Sorrow and Care ''Hang Up Sorrow and Care'' is an album by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. Released in 1995, it is a loose concept album, with renditions of songs that were written hundreds of years ago. Critical reception ''Stereo Review'' stated: "Ballads ...

''.

Cultural references

A different song with the same title was written by

Leon Rosselson Leon Rosselson (born 22 June 1934, Harrow, Middlesex, England) is an English songwriter and writer of children's books. After his early involvement in the folk music revival in Britain, he came to prominence, singing his own satirical songs, i ...

, and made popular by

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

. The song is referenced in the novel '' Burr'' by

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...

. This song is referenced in the 2015 Broadway musical ''Hamilton'' in the song "

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" is the twentieth song from Act 1 of the musical '' Hamilton'', based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. ...

". In 1972 the

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

historian Christopher Hill published ''The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution'' . In a review of this book for the publisher

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

historians Harman Bhogal and Liam Haydon wrote: In 2019 a sculpture by

Mark Wallinger Mark Wallinger (born 25 May 1959) is a British artist. Having previously been nominated for the Turner Prize in 1995, he won in 2007 for his installation ''State Britain''. His work ''Ecce Homo'' (1999–2000) was the first piece to occupy the ...

titled "

The World Turned Upside Down "The World Turned Upside Down" is an English ballad. It was first published on a broadside in the middle of the 1640s as a protest against the policies of Parliament relating to the celebration of Christmas. Parliament believed the holiday s ...

" was unveiled on the campus of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. It is a political globe with the south pole on top. It is in diameter and displays the nations and borders of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. The song is repeatedly referred to in Robertson Davies' novel "Murther and Walking Spirits" as being popular among loyalists during the American revolution

References

External links