Conditional Discharge

You know, I remember a few years ago

Some funny things used to happen to me,

About 1956-57

At that time there was no blues scene

Or not really any kind of scene in London

I used to go out and play my guitar in the streets

And sing things with passing my hat down

I remember one particular night

I was playing the guitar in a little alleyway

Just off of Wardour Street in Soho

And I got busted by the police

This policeman came up and dragged me and my guitar

And my hat full of pennies off to the police station

Anyway, the next day

I had to appear in Marlboro Street Police Court

And it was quite a day

Police officer giving his evidence

"I was proceeding in a southerly direction, mi-lord

When I heard strange sounds

Coming from Wardour Place, mi-lord

A sort of boogie-woogie music was being played

On further investigation, I saw the defendant

Standing there with a guitar and an old hat

On the floor collecting pennies

Well, I decided that he was contravening

A breach of the peace there, as there was

A traffic jam about five miles long down Wardour Street

Wondering what all the fuss was about

So then I arrested the defendant"

"Ah, just one moment, officer

Well, what is this boogie-woogie music

Here we're talking about?"

"Oh, well, mi-lord", said the officer

Getting out his notebook, obviously

Been doing up his homework

"It's a kind of jazz-rhythm music

Peculiar to the American-Negro"

"Oh, and what was the defendant doing

Playing this kind of music there in Wardour Street?"

Anyway I got off with a caution

A year's conditional discharge

But I'll always remember that policeman

And his boogie-woogie music

So don't try to lay no boogie-woogie

On the king of rock and roll