The Rules of the Game
This song, with its fast-paced chord changes, concerns the two-facedness that so many are forced to foster in order to function successfully in work and in business, and the way in which humanity becomes dislocated in the process. In his 2023 book, Where Are The Elephants?, Leon sets the song in the context of One Dimensional Man (Herbert Marcuse) and The Divided Self (RD Laing), which he read in the 1960s.
"Eichmann, by all accounts, was a kind, mild man. Sir Alec Douglas-Home doesn't beat his wife and is a beautiful flower-arranger, into the bargain. Lyndon Johnson is a noted dog-lover and family man. Not many of us are cruel to our children and any one of us could press the button. But if we want to get on (and who doesn't?) there are certain things we must be prepared to do." - LR (Look Here (songbook), 1968)
Recordings
Version 1 (1968) Live recording
Version 2 (1975)
Version 3 (1997)
- A Laugh, a Song and a Hand-grenade
- The Story of Transatlantic Records (CD) Various artists compilation. Released abroad as Transatlantic Folk Box Set
- Anthems in Eden (CD box set) Various artists compilation
Version 2 (1975)
Version 3 (1997)