Song- The Cat Came Back; Another version (longish)
Chuck Bramlet ("ELL447::BRAMLET"@ECC6.ATENG.AZ.HONEYWELL.COM)
Fri, 28 Apr 1995 08:52:01 -0700
I see that Jeff Menaker has already posted one set of words for this
song. After reading them, I find they don't quite match the version
that I have. So, with apologies to Jon for the banwidth, here is an
alternate version from the pages of "Reprints from Sing Out!" vol, 7,
circa 1964. (I already said that I didn't throw _anything_ away. ;) )
This version is credited to Ethel Raim, who created this composite
version from several that she heard while in New York City, and to
Irwin Silber, editor of Sing Out!
THE CAT CAME BACK
Old Mister Johnson had troubles of his own.
He had a yellow cat which wouldn't leave its' home;
He tried and tried to give the cat away,
He gave it to a man going far, far away.
Chorus
But the cat came back, the very next day.
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, it just couldn't stay away.
[I remember an alternate chourus also:
But the cat came back, the very next day.
The cat came back, it just couldn't stay away.
The cat came back, it wouldn't leave its' home;
The very next day the cat came home.
The meter of this chourus may not fit with the words, here.
Credit for this version of the chourus to "Rolf the Dog"
and Jim Henson's Muppet family.]
The man around the corner swore he'd kill that cat on sight,
He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamite;
He waited and waited for that cat to come around,
Ninety seven pieces of the man were all they ever found.
Chorus
He gave it to a little boy with a dollar note,
Told him for to take it up the river in a boat;
They tied a rope around its neck, it must have weighed a pound,
Now they drag the river for the little boy that's drowned.
Chorus
He gave it to a man going up in a ballon
Told him for to take it to the man in the moon,
The ballon came down about ninety miles away,
Where he is now, we dare not say.
Chorus
He gave it to a man going wayout west,
Told him for to take it to the one he loved the best,
First the train hit the curve, then it jumped the rail,
Not a soul was left behind to tell the gruesome tale.
Chorus
The atom bomb fell just the other day,
The H-bomb fell in the very same way,
Russia went, England went, and then the U. S. A.,
The human race was finished without a chance to pray.
**Here are some additional verses from the "original song"
(whatever that was...) that have been slightly edited for content
and dialect.
The cat it had some company one night out in the yard,
Someone threw a boot-jack, and they threw it mighty hard,
It caught the cat behind the ear, she thought it rather slight,
When along came a brick-bat and knocked the cat out of sight.
Chorus
Away across the ocean they did send the cat at last,
Vessel only out a day and making water fast;
People all began to pray, the boat began to toss,
A great big gust of wind came by and every soul was lost.
Chorus
On a telegraph wire, sparrows sitting in a bunch,
The cat was feeling hungry, thought she'd like 'em for lunch;
Climbing softly up the pole, and when she reached the top,
Put her foot upon the electric wire, which tied her in a knot.
Chorus
The cat was a possesor of a family of it's own,
With seven little kittens, till there came a cyclone;
Blew the houses all apart and tossed the cat around,
The air was full of kittens, and not a one was ever found.
Chorus
--------------------------------------------------------------------
When someone can figure out how to put music in ascii text,
we will be able to post tunes to these silly things. I have heard
3 different tunes for this song, and the tune on Sing Out! is a
completely _new_ one to me. :^)
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
