"Hand Me Down World" is song written by Kurt Winter, performed and released in 1970 by The Guess Who, for whom Winter served as lead guitarist from 1970 to 1974 and 1977 to 1978. It reached #10 in Canada,[2] #17 on the Billboard Hot 100,[3] and #65 in Australia. The song was also released in the United Kingdom as a single, but did not chart.[4] It is featured on their 1970 album, Share the Land.[5]
| "Hand Me Down World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the 1970 German single | ||||
| Single by The Guess Who | ||||
| from the album Share the Land | ||||
| B-side | "Runnin' Down the Street" | |||
| Released | June 1970 (CAN) July 1970 (US) August 1970 (UK) | |||
| Genre | Rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | Nimbus Records 1863 (CAN) RCA Victor 0367 (US) RCA Records 1994 (UK) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kurt Winter | |||
| Producer(s) | Jack Richardson | |||
| The Guess Who singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was produced by Jack Richardson and arranged by The Guess Who.[6]
This song was a rebellion against the older political systems. In the repeated choruses, Cummings and the other vocalists stated that they don't want any hand me down shoes, love, and world, because they "Got one already". Also, the line: "I think we missed it" was another way of going against the establishment.
Cash Box reviewed the song stating "powered by a youth message song and the team’s special fervor, this new Guess Who single maintains the lyric involvement begun by their 'American Woman' giant."[7]
Personnel
edit- Burton Cummings – lead vocals, keyboards
- Kurt Winter – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Greg Leskiw – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Jim Kale – bass
- Garry Peterson – drums
Chart performance
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 65 |
| Canada RPM | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[8] | 13 |
Other versions
edit- Tesla released a version of the song on their 2007 album, Real to Reel.
References
edit- ^ Edmonds, Ben (2004). "The Guess Who". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 348–349. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ^ "Hand Me Down, World (song by The Guess Who) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. 1970-07-18. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ^ "The Guess Who - Hand Me Down World / Runnin' Down The Street - RCA Victor - UK - RCA 1994". 45cat.com. 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ^ "The Guess Who - Share The Land (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ^ "The Guess Who - Hand Me Down World / Runnin' Down The Street - Nimbus - Canada - 74-0367". 45cat.com. 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 11, 1970. p. 29. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 9/19/70".