Cream

Released: November 2, 1967

Songwriter: Ginger Baker Eric Clapton Jack Bruce Traditional

Producer: Felix Pappalardi

[Intro]
Are we rollin'? A-one, a-two, a-three, a-four...

[Verse]
A mother was washing her baby one night
The youngest of ten and a delicate mite
The mother was poor, and the baby was thin
Twas naught but an skellington covered with skin
The mother turned 'round for a soap off the rack
She was only a moment, but a-when she turned back
Her baby had gone and in anguish she cried
"Oh, where 'as my baby gone?" The angels replied
"Oh, your baby has gone down the plug-'ole
Oh, your baby has gone down the plug
The poor little thing was so skinny and thin
He should 'ave been washed in a jug, in a jug
Your baby is perfectly happy
He won't need a bath anymore
He's a-muckin' about with the angels above
Not lost, but gone before"

[Outro]
Thank you
Do you wanna do it again?

The members of this power trio, formed in the autumn of 1966, were all veterans of the blues revival. Guitarist Eric Clapton was the same prodigy who revealed himself with the Yardbirds, and who had contributed to the legendary recording of Bluesbreakers with John Mayall. Drummer Peter “Ginger” Baker, skilled at many forms of percussion, had already played, in 1960, with the Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and in 1962 with Alexis Korner and the Graham Bond Organisation. Scottish bassist Jack Bruce had traveled some of the same roads as Baker, before joining Manfred Mann. Bruce and Clapton had met each other in the Powerhouse, a short-lived lineup put together by John Mayall, that also included Steve Winwood at the keyboard. With Cream these three virtuosos simply brought to fruition the experience that they developed in the London clubs, bringing to the rock concert stage long, electric, high volume improvisations.

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