DEAR SUN SPOTS: There was a song I used to hear way back around 1948-1950 titled “The Cat Came Back.”

Some of the lyrics went like this: “The cat came back the very next day. I thought it was a goner, but the cat came back because it couldn’t stay away.”

I would really appreciate the words to this song if anyone could find them for me. — No Name, No Town

ANSWER: Sun Spots found these lyrics at http://kididdles.org/lyrics/c020.html. The website said it was written by Harry S. Miller (with later folk additions), copyright unknown.

Old Mister Johnson had troubles of his own

He had a yellow cat which wouldn’t leave its home;

He tried and he tried to give the cat away,

He gave it to a man goin’ far, far away.

(the next four lines are the chorus)

But the cat came back the very next day,

The cat came back, we thought he was a goner

But the cat came back; it just couldn’t stay away.

Away, away, yea, yea, yea

The man around the corner swore he’d kill the cat on sight,

He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamite;

He waited and he waited for the cat to come around,

Ninety seven pieces of the man is all they 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 a little boy that’s drowned.

Chorus

He gave it to a man going up in a balloon,

He told him for to take it to the man in the moon;

The balloon came down about ninety miles away,

Where he is now, well I dare not say.

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

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 a 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 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

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

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I was surprised to learn in the Nov. 23 letter responding to my Sept. 16 letter looking for former classmates from L’orphelina Saint Joseph (also known as the Marcotte Home for girls) that not everyone was contacted. We are in the process of putting together a reunion and would love to hear from anyone who is interested in attending. Please call me at 946-5210. I am looking forward hearing from you. — Julie Jipson, juliejoe7@roadrunner.com

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