By: Paul S Cilwa	Posted: 10/27/2026	Page Views: 35
Hashtags: #Music #1950s
Watchin' the world turn upside down in real time.
Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s) (353 words)

Folk music has always had a conscience. The line runs from Joe Hill and Lead Belly through Woody Guthrie, whose guitar carried the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists, to Pete Seeger, whose group the Weavers topped the charts in 1950 with Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene." That same year Seeger was named in Red Channels, and the bookings dried up. In 1955 he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to answer its questions—not by pleading the Fifth, but on First Amendment grounds. He was convicted of contempt in 1961, had the conviction overturned on appeal the next year, and was not welcome on network television until 1967.

This song isn't actually by him; but by my persona Paul Seagull. Regardless, the complaint, I'm sorry to say, is as true today as it would have been then.

Society's Decline

By Paul S Cilwa · Performed by Paul Seagull

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Well the stupid shout louder than the wise,
And the lazy man's pockets overflow,
While the honest folks are walkin' hungry,
And the crooked ones run the show.

[Verse 2]
The preacher's got no morals left,
But he's preachin' just the same,
And the good man's name don't matter much,
If he ain't playin' the fame game.

[Chorus]
Oh, the wind keeps blowin' through the cracks,
And the truth gets lost in time,
We're watchin' the world turn upside down,
In society's decline.

[Verse 3]
Children ain't allowed to be children no more,
They're sold on the factory line,
While the guilty hide behind the law,
And the victims fall in line.

[Verse 4]
They call madness "normal livin',"
And the crowd just cheers along,
Politicians feed off the people's sweat,
Singin' their own sweet song.

[Chorus (repeat)]
Oh, the wind keeps blowin' through the cracks,
And the truth gets lost in time,
We're watchin' the world turn upside down,
In society's decline.

[Outro]
So I'll strum this tune for the honest few,
Who still walk that lonesome line,
Keep your heart clean and your eyes wide open,
Through society's decline.

A Million Little Pieces Of My Mind

That '50s Album