Jack Bruce

fair copies, 'White Room' in 47 lines and 'Politician' in 6 lines, written on either side of a leaf of United Airlines stationery (headed "flying the friendly skies of United"), 2 pages, folio (266 x 184mm), c.1967, slight staining, folds

"...and I'll wait in this place
where the sun never shines
wait in this place
where the shadows run from themselves..."

'White Room', one of Cream's most memorable songs and a powerful evocation of depression, and the satirical 'Politician', were both written by long-term collaborators Jack Bruce and Pete Brown for the band's third album, Wheels of Fire, which was released in the summer of 1968. Brown was primarily the lyricist and Bruce the musician - Brown has recalled that the lyrics of 'White Room' were adapted from an existing poem in order to fit Bruce's music - however the two men worked in close collaboration (for which see lots 13 and 14) and Bruce was closely engaged in honing the lyrics, which of course he was to sing. This manuscript was probably written during one of Cream's two American tours of 1967 (March-April and August-October), and may date from before the lyrics to 'White Room' were finalised. There are a number of textual differences between this manuscript and the recorded song: it lacks the final line of the first verse, "golden tigers" were to become "yellow tigers" in the final version of the last verse, and the variations in the refrain are different from the final version of the song. The lyrics are here broken down into short lines, mirroring Bruce's vocal phrasing, which further suggests that this manuscript formed part of the song's final development.