The World Turned Upside Down - Part 1
Leon's famous "The World Turned Upside Down" was originally the second half of a two-song suite, closing his LP, That's Not the Way It's Got To Be (moved to the start of side two in the US pressing of 1981). Less well known, but originally integral to the partner song was this "part 1", which deals with the modern situation. In a sense, "part 1" distills the album into a single song, outlining oppositions of power and powerlessness. More precisely, and leading us to the Diggers' story to come, it concerns the control which those who own property (factories, land, housing) have over those who own none.
"This song is in two connected parts; the first sketches contemporary tales of a property-owning democracy." - LR (sleevenotes to the US edition of That's Not the Way It's Got To Be, 1981)
“This song was always intended to have two parts, the first being contemporary tales about private property, but with the problems of changing guitar tuning between the two parts and the growing popularity of the Diggers’ story, the first part dropped out.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p31)
“This song was always intended to have two parts, the first being contemporary tales about private property, but with the problems of changing guitar tuning between the two parts and the growing popularity of the Diggers’ story, the first part dropped out.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p31)
Recordings
Version 1 (1975)