12/06/2025
First rap song ever?
“Johnny's in the basement
Mixin' up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinkin' about the government
The man in a trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid!
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doin' it again
You better duck down the alleyway
Looking for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In a pig pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten
Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed, but
Phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says ‘The man he say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A’
Look out kid!
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don’t tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plainclothes
You don't need a weatherman
To know which way the wind blows
Oh, get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell
If anything is gonna sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the Army if you fail
Look out kid!
You're gonna get hit
By losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hanging 'round the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Looking for a new fool
Don't follow leaders
Watch the parking meters
Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance,
Learn to dance,
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid!
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles.”
Photo in Paris, France, by Tony Frank (1966)
