Released: August 9, 1968

Songwriter: Ginger Baker

Producer: Felix Pappalardi

Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop
They didn't want to; 'twas all they had got
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat
And pressed rat's collection of doglegs and feet

Sadly, they left, telling no one goodbye
Pressed rat wore red jodhpurs, warthog a striped tie
Between them, they carried a three-legged sack
Went straight round the corner and never came back

Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop
The bad captain madman had told them to stop
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat
And pressed rat's collection of doglegs and feet

The bad captain madman had ordered their fate
He laughed and stomped off with a nautical gait
The gate turned into a deroga tree
And his peg leg got woodworm and broke into three

Pressed rat and warthog have closed down their shop
They didn't want to; 'twas all they had got
Selling atonal apples, amplified heat
And pressed rat's collection of doglegs and feet

Cream

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.