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The Cat Came Back (Original Lyrics)
Old-Time, Breakdown- USA; Ky., Missouri. "A Comic Negro Absurdity Minstrel Song" Words and Music by Harry S. Miller (1893)
ARTIST: Harry S. Miller;
SHEET MUSIC: Cat Came Back arranged Richard Matteson
Listen: Sonny James- Cat Came Back (w/vocal) 1956
Listen: Laurie Berkner- Cat Came Back (w/vocal)
MP3: Fiddle Instrumental by Doc Roberts 1927
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: 1893;
RECORDING INFO: Fiddlin' John Carson, "And The Cat Came Back" (Okeh 40119, 1924); Riley Puckett, "The Cat Came Back" (Decca 5442, 1937); Fiddlin' Doc Roberts, "And The Cat Came Back" (instrumental) (Challenge 307, 1927; Silvertone 8179, 1928); Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith - "Say Old Man" (1990. Learned from Tommy Jackson). Morning Star 45005, Doc Roberts - "Way Down South in Dixie" (Learned from Madison County, Ky., African-American fiddler Owen Walker {b. 1857), a well-known local entertainer). Moore, Lee. Everybody's Favorite, Rural Rhythm RRLM 202, LP (197?), cut#B.01; Osborne, Uncle Charlie (Charlie N.). Seedtime on the Cumberland. Sampler 1990-91, June Appal JA 0067C, Cas (1992), cut# 3; Osborne, Uncle Charlie (Charlie N.). 100 Years Farther On, June Appal JA 0064C, Cas (199?), cut# 8; Williams, Doc. Doc Williams, New and Old Favorites, Wheeling WLPS-7272, LP (196?), cut#B.03
OTHER NAMES: "And The Cat Came Back;" “Cat”
SOURCES: Fiddler J. C. Owens-Fiddler’s Three (Cat Came Back) (a master of various fiddling styles of the upstate South Carolina) Doc Roberts (Ky.) [Reiner & Anick]; Kevin Wimmer [Phillips]. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 1), 1973; pg. 8. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), 1994; pg. 15. Reiner & Anick (Old-Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 98. Randolph 444, "The Cat Came Back;" Spaeth-ReadWeep, p. 147, "The Cat Came Back;" Silber-FSWB, p. 400, Herren, Ruth Burton. Sweet Bunch of Daisies, Colonial Press, Bk (1991), p 68;
NOTES: "The Cat Came Back", a song written by Henry S. Miller in 1893 is included in my new book, Acoustic Music Source Book, published by Mel Bay. At some point in the 1960s-1970s the lyrics were wed to the chord progression Em/D/C/B7 found in songs like "Sixteen Tons" by Merle Travis. This is the way I play it and you can listen to Laurie Berkner's version (above) that uses the minor chord progression.
There are a variety of online versions at the Max Hunter and Wolff Folklore collections, some with notes and chords. There are a variety of lyric version (many included here), several which even have the cat blown up by an atomic bomb.
Notes from Kuntz: "G Major (Phillips, Reiner & Anick): A Major (Christeson). Standard, AEAE, ADAE. AABBCC (Phillips): AA'BB'CC' (Reiner & Anick). Christeson (1973) notes: "Played by a few Missouri fiddlers in ... the early 1930's but is seldom heard any more." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
CAT CAME BACK, THE- Words and Music by Harry S. Miller (1893)
Dar was ole Mister Johnson
He had troubles ob his own;
He had an ole yeller cat that wouldn't leave his home.
He tried eb'ry thing he knew to keep de cat away;
Eben sent it to de preacher, but he tole it fer to stay.
Chorus: And de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
De cat did hab some comp'ny one night in de yard
Someone frowed a boot-jack, and dey frowed it mighty hard.
Caught de cat behind de car,
She thought it rather slight
When along dar comes a brick-bat
And it knocked it out ob sight.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
Away across de ocean dey did send de cat at last,
Vessel only out a day, and taking water fast;
People all began to pray, de boat began to toss,
When a nodder vessel came along
And took de people off.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
On a telegraph wire sparrows sittin' in a bunch,
Cat 'a feelin' hungry, thought she'd like 'em fer her lunch;
Climbing softly up de pole,
And when she reached de top,
Put her foot upon de 'lectric wire
Which tied her in a knot.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
One time did give the cat away
To man in a balloon
An' tole him fer to gib it
To de man in de moon;
But de b'loon, it busted, sho, and eb'rybody sad
It was seben miles away or more
Dey picked the man up dead.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
De cat was a possessor ob a fam'ly ob its own
Wid seben little kittens till dar comes a cyclone;
Blowed de houses all apart,
And tossed de cat around,
When de air was full ob kittens
Not a one was eber found.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
De cat it were a terror
And dey said it war be best
To gib it to a gambler who was goin' out West
De train goin' round de curve
Struck a broken rail
Not a blessed soul aboard de train
Was left to tell de tale.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
A man down on de corner swore to kill de cat at night
Loaded up a musket full ob nails and dynamite
Waited in de garden fer de cat to come around;
Half-a-dozen bits and pieces ob de man was all they found.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
Little boy took de cat away, he got a dollar note,
Took it down de ribber in a little open boat;
Tied a brick around its neck, an' stone about a pound;
Now dey're grapplin' in de ribber for a little boy that's drowned.
But de cat came back
De very next day
And de cat came back
We thought it was a goner
But de cat came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
While de cat lay a-sleepin'
An' a restin' one day
'Round came an organ grinder an' he began to play;
De cat look'd around awhile, an' kinda raised her head
When he played "Ta-rah-rah-boom-dee-ay"
De cat just dropped down dead.
But its ghost came back
The very next day
Yes, its ghost came back,
Maybe you will doubt it
But its ghost came back
Because it wouldn't stay away!
Yes, its ghost came back
To tell you all about it
Yes, its ghost came back
Don't you ever doubt it
But its ghost came back
Just to bid 'em all goodbye!
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