World Turned Upside Down
On the afternoon of October 17, 1781, after a heavy bombardment of Yorktown, Virginia by French and American forces, a young British drummer boy ascended a parapet and beat for a parley. After discussions in the Moore House, on October 18th, General Cornwallis capitulated in order to avoid total destruction of his army. Short of food, water and other necessities, with his supply lines blocked by the French Navy, he had little choice.
General Washington chose General Benjamin Lincoln to accept the sword of Earl Cornwallis. Years earlier, Lincoln had been humiliated by Cornwallis when he was forced to surrender at Charleston. Feigning illness, Cornwallis sent his second in command, General Charles O'Hara, in his stead. Lincoln graciously accepted the sword. He then offered it to French General Rochambeau, who refused it. Lincoln then asked O'Hara to return it to Lord Cornwallis with his compliments.
Legend has always told the unverified story of how the Americans played "Yankee Doodle" after the ceremony on October 19, and how the British army marched, flags furled, with their fifes and drums playing "World Turned Upside Down." Considering how they must have felt, the story is quite believable. The most powerful military force in the world had been defeated by a ragtag bunch of farmers in the New World.
Fifers and drummers have played a song with this name for well over a century, often telling the same tale of how it was played at the Yorktown surrender. However, the piece they play, When the King Enjoys His Own Again, is completely incompatible with the lyrics. A parody to this particular song, dating to 1646, decried the loss of many Christmas traditions. Another lyric entitled "World Turned Upside Down" was set to the tune Derry Down according to some sources. However, if you look carefully, the words fit nicely with the melody scored below.
The actual words below came from a bedtime poem and lullaby that was popular in Britain at the time of the surrender. I still cannot determine the veracity of the Yorktown story but if it is true, this is probably the tune that was played on that most important day:
For additional information on the story of "World Turned Upside Down" at Yorktown, go to this link:
http://www.americanrevolution.org/upside.html
(c)E.W. Boyle, 2001