Song Name: The World Turned Upside Down
Year of Release: 1640
Written by: Unknown
Performed by: Never recorded by an artist, though renditions exist
Key Lyric: “Yet let’s be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn’d upside down.”
Description: The song's origins predate the Revolution by over a century, as the song was originally written in 1640 to protest Parliament’s ban on celebrating Christmas. The lyrics specifically reference the legislation banning celebrations of the holiday. It is sung to the tune of “When the King Enjoys His Own Again.” Its connections to the Revolution come due to it apocryphally being played by General Charles Cornwallis’s during the British surrender at Yorktown. The accuracy of this claim is debated, as it first appeared in writing over a century after the battle, but the link between the song and the surrender remains undeniable.
Why Was It Important: Generally, the losing side would play a song from the winner’s country (in the case of Yorktown, Cornwallis’s band would have played a French or American song). However, George Washington refused them the traditional privileges granted to the losing side and insisted that they play “a British or German march.” The song gained significance in recent years due to it being referenced in the Hamilton song “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down).”
Recording:
'The World Turned Upside Down' - English Anti-Commonwealth Song (YouTube rendition)