"If I Ruled the World" is a popular song, composed by Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel, which was originally from the 1963 West End musical Pickwick (based on Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers).

Background

In the context of the stage musical, the song is sung by Samuel Pickwick, when he is mistaken for an election candidate and called on by the crowd to give his manifesto. Ornadel and Bricusse received the 1963 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

First recordings

Other recordings

It has been performed by other singers, notably:

In popular culture