The Cat Came Back
Harry S. Miller, 1893· Novelty / Silly / Funny Songs · p.450
Em D C B7
Old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own.
Em D C B7
He had a yellow cat that wouldn't leave its home.
Em D C B7
He tried and he tried to give that cat away.
Em D C B7
He gave it to a man who was going far away.
Chorus:
Em D C B7 (Same chord pattern all lines)
But the cat came back the very next day.
The cat came back. They thought it was a goner,
But the cat came back; it just wouldn't stay away.
The man around the corner said he'd shoot the cat on sight.
He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamite.
He waited and he waited for that cat to come around.
Ninety-seven pieces of that man was all they found. (Chorus)
He gave it to a man going up in a balloon.
He told him to give it to the man up in the moon.
The balloon came down about ninety miles away.
And where that man is now, well, I dare not say. (Chorus)
He gave it to a feller who was going way out West.
Told him for to take it to the one he loved the best.
First the train hit the curve and then it jumped the rail.
Not a soul was left alive to tell the gruesome tale. (Chorus)
Away across the ocean they did send the cat at last.
Vessel only out a day and taking 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)
He gave it to a little boy with a dollar note.
He told the boy to take the cat up river on a boat.
They tied a rock around its neck - it must have weighed a pound.
And now they drag the river for a little boy who drowned. (Chorus)
The A-bomb fell just the other day.
The H-bomb fell in the very same way.
Russia went! England went! And then the USA.
The human race was finished without a chance to pray. (Chorus)
*The last verse likely written in the 1950’s or 1960’s during the Cold War. Unknown author.