Talking Democracy Blues
Written and released alongside "Where Are The Barricades?", this 'talking blues' starts out as a broadside against the electoral system, and the bizarre way governments use their "elected" status to do as they please. But about half way through, Leon focuses in on the then current Labour government, and Blair in particular, running down the many things he and his government did in our name, on the assumption that we'd given our consent.
The opening words locate the song in time, referencing the struggling Labour government and lamenting how (with the general election imminent) we'll soon be back in Toryland - which came to pass with the creation of the coalition government of 2010. Leon uploaded a video of himself performing the song to his YouTube channel shortly before the country went to the polls; by the time he recorded a version for his box set The World Turned Upside Down, the coalition had been formed, hence a new opening line: "The Lib-Dems gave a helping hand..."
One other line of interest is the scornful, "It's like an endless game of cricket / Each team [party] takes turns at the wicket", which echoes the very old "Tories All Out", Stephen Sedley's satirical number on the 1964 LP, Vote For Us. Sedley's lines, as if spoken by a Tory, include, "Tomorrow it looks like the Labour chap's turn / And we'll have a crack at their wicket".
The opening words locate the song in time, referencing the struggling Labour government and lamenting how (with the general election imminent) we'll soon be back in Toryland - which came to pass with the creation of the coalition government of 2010. Leon uploaded a video of himself performing the song to his YouTube channel shortly before the country went to the polls; by the time he recorded a version for his box set The World Turned Upside Down, the coalition had been formed, hence a new opening line: "The Lib-Dems gave a helping hand..."
One other line of interest is the scornful, "It's like an endless game of cricket / Each team [party] takes turns at the wicket", which echoes the very old "Tories All Out", Stephen Sedley's satirical number on the 1964 LP, Vote For Us. Sedley's lines, as if spoken by a Tory, include, "Tomorrow it looks like the Labour chap's turn / And we'll have a crack at their wicket".
“Fifty years on and I’m back writing the sort of songs I was writing at the beginning of my songwriting ‘career’... ‘Talking Democracy Blues’ is not so much a song, more of a political rant against the shameless Blair, New Labour’s time in power and the limits of what is called democracy. It won’t change anything but I felt a bit better after writing it.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p65)
Recordings
Version 1 (2010) Filmed solo performance with original lines
Version 2 (2011)
Version 2 (2011)