The Cat Came Back
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| "The Cat Came Back" | |
 Cover, sheet music, 1893 |
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| Written by | Harry S. Miller |
|---|---|
| Published | 1893 |
| Language | English |
"The Cat Came Back" is a comic song written by Harry S. Miller[1] in 1893. "The Cat Came Back" has since entered the folk tradition and been recorded under variations of the title—"But The Cat Came Back", "And The Cat Came Back", etc. It is also a popular children's song.
The song is humorous in nature, telling a silly tale about "old Mister Johnson" who had a "yaller cat" that he did not want, and when he tried to get rid of the cat, the cat kept coming back:
- But de cat came back, couldn't stay no longer,
- Yes de cat came back de very next day:
- De cat came back—thought she were a goner,
- But de cat came back for it wouldn't stay away.
In Miller's original, the cat finally died when an organ grinder came around one day and:
- De cat look'd around awhile and' kinder raised her head
- When he played Ta-rah-dah-boom-da-rah, an' the cat dropped dead.
Even then the cat's ghost came back.
The first commercial recording of "The Cat Came Back" was by Fiddlin' John Carson (OKeh 40119) in April 1924. Other early recordings include one by Philipine Fiddlin' Doc Roberts ("And The Cat Came Back The Very Next Day", Gennett 3235), on November 13, 1925.
The song was used as the basis for the 1988 short animated film The Cat Came Back by Cordell Barker.
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[edit] Timing of the song
The song is often used to teach children the concepts of rhythm and tempo. It is an excellent example in this regard, because of the strong and consistent beat pattern, combined with amusing and humorous lyrics. Additionally, especially the minor key versions of the song, have a compelling effect with regards to perception of tempo.
Like many children's songs, the song has a very strong well-defined beat pattern. It consists of one weak beat, one strong beat, so it is often sung in 2/4 time.
Thus it can be (and often is) sung while walking, with, for example, strong beats when the left foot hits the ground and weak beats when the right foot hits the ground.
[edit] Versions of the song
There are many versions of the song. In one, the cat is yellow. One version goes something like:
- first verse
Now old Mr. Johnson had some troubles of his own,
He had a scarlet cat that just wouldn't leave his home,
He tried and he 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, we thought he was a goner,
The cat came back, he just wouldn't stay away.
- alternate chorus
But the cat came back he wouldn't stay away,
He was sitting on the porch the very next day.
Every second beat is emphasized (emphasized beats are shown underlined in bold).
Each line of text in the above has eight beats, and usually the chords fall (piano) or begin (organ) on the capitalized words.
The chord progression repeats every 8 beats, so one might think of the song as being in either 2/ time or 8/ time (whichever denominator you use for reference time, i.e. 2/4 or 8/4 time if the beat is a quarter note, etc.). The pattern of 2/ and 8/ is very similar to the beat pattern in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but phase-shifted by 180 degrees (since the song starts on a weak beat rather than the strong beat beginning of Twinkle Twinkle).
[edit] Medleys
The song helped launch the career of children's entertainer Fred Penner. He has used the song as part of a medley that includes the tune heard in Hit the Road Jack with lyrics changed to "Hit the Road Cat".
[edit] Zero padding or improv/instrumental of the chorus
As with many simple children's songs, it is often desired to have the number of beats be a power of two, so the first verse plus the chorus takes up, for example, 64 beats, so it is often nice to put some kind of instrumental or improvised section at the end of the chorus to make it fit nicely into 64 rather than 56 beats for one verse plus one run of the chorus. Alternatively an 8-beat rest (zero padding) may be inserted and the end of the chorus.
Many versions are in a major key, but there are some versions that are also in a minor key. The chord progression for many of the minor-key versions is Am, G, F, E.
[edit] Variations in the melody of the additional verses
The additional verses often have a notable variation in melody but with the same chords. For example the second verse often shoots up an octave to emphasize the words "dynamite" and "found" (each sung an octave above the first note of the song, which is "E" if the song is sung in the key of A-minor), even though the first verse does not shoot up that way.
The third verse often contains a descending scale that does not appear in the first or second verses.
[edit] Microtonal and chirp-based versions of the chorus
Also, the second line of the chorus "thought he was a goner" is often sung either off-key (deliberately), or just said (not sung), or includes chirps or quarter tones (notes that fall between semitones). In some versions the chirps can be approximated by a chromatic glissando.
[edit] Bass line
[edit] Harmonic minor variations
The chord progression lends itself exceptionally well to a bass line that's natural minor descending, and harmonic minor ascending, i.e. in the key of A-minor, the 8 beats (in 8/ time) would play out as A, A, G, G, F, F, E, G#
[edit] Melodic minor variations
Additionally, the bass line may be played as melodic minor (i.e. including both an F# and a G# on the way up). This second variation is very effective in teaching children the concept of a melodic minor scale, since melodic minor otherwise occurs so seldom in simple children's songs.
[edit] Complete lyrics
The cat was a possessor of a family of its 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
He gave it to a man going way out 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
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
He gave it to a little boy who lived upon a boat; It was out upon the river, it was out and on the float. He tied a weight around its neck, it must've weighed ten pounds; Next day they dragged the river for the little boy who drowned.
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.
Chorus x2
Additional lyrics - from the version recorded by Cisco Houston on "Passing Through", Folkways FVS9003, 1963
Now old Mister Johnson had troubles all his own, He had an old yeller cat which wouldn't leave home, He tried everything he knew to try to get the cat to stay away, Even took him up to Canada and told him for to stay
Chorus: But the cat came back the very next day, The cat came back, 'thought he was a goner, But the kittie came back 'cause he couldn't stay away
The farmer on the corner said he'd shoot him on sight, He loaded up his shotgun full of rocks and dynamite; The explosion was heard all 'round town, Little pieces of the man is all they found
Chorus: But the cat came back...
He gave a boy a dollar for to set the cat afloat, And he took him up the river in a sack and a boat; Now the fishin' it was fine 'till the news got around, That the boat was missing and the boy was drowned.
Chorus: But the cat came back...
He gave him to a man going up in a balloon, He told him for to leave him with the man in the moon; The balloon it busted, down to earth it head, Seven miles away they picked the man up dead.
Chorus: But the cat came back...
Now they finally found a way this cat for to fix, They put him in an orange crate out on Route 66, Come a ten ton truck with a twenty ton load, Scattered pieces of the orange crate all down the road
Chorus: But the cat came back...
Then he took him to the shop where the meat was ground, And dropped him in the hopper when the butcher wasn't round, Now the cat disappeared with a blood curdling shriek, And the town's meat tasted furry for a week
Chorus: But the cat came back...
Now they took him to Cape Canaveral and they put him in this place, In a US rocket going way in outer space, Now they waited 'till they thought he was out of human reach, Next day they got a call from Miami Beach...
Chorus: the cat came back...
[edit] Cordell Barker's Animation
Although the Barker animation does not involve many spoken lyrics, relying more on its animation to show the action, both spoken verses, as shown here, are different than other versions:
Now, old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own.
He had a yellow cat that wouldn't leave his home!
A special plan with deception as the key.
One little cat—how hard could it be?
and
Well, old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own.
Still the yellow cat wouldn't leave his home!
Steps were needed to remove the little curse.
The old man knew it couldn't get any worse.
[edit] In Popular Culture
The Phantom Surfers recorded a version on their album "The Great Surf Crash Of '97".
The song features in the film "Adaptation." (2002).
A variation of the song, "Archie Came Back", was used in the YTV children's television series The Fuzzpaws. Archie, a yellow cat, was one of the show's characters.
Children's entertainers, Sharon, Lois & Bram recorded "The Cat Came Back" on their 1980 Juno-Award-Winning album Singing 'n' Swinging. They also featured the song on their hit Nickelodeon TV-Series The Elephant Show in Season 2, Episode 26 "Treasure Hunt".
A shorter adaptation of the song was performed by Rowlf with a banjo in The Muppet Show, episode 523.
In the 70's, Steve Waring, an American songwriter and folk singer, adapted the song in French and simply called it "Le matou" ("the tomcat"). The story is based on the same line than the original: everyday, Tompson, an old farmer, try to kill his cat, unsuccessfully, of course, while "le matou revient le jour suivant" ("the cat comes back the next day").
In 1972 on one episode of the popular PBS program ZOOM, the children's cast (called "ZOOMers") sang and danced to the song, although they didn't sing all the verses because of its considerable length.
This song is also popular among certain Boy Scout troops and camps.
[edit] References
- ^ Rise Up Singing page 70
[edit] External links
