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.
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.
But the cat came back....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.
But the cat came back...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 sould was left behind to tell the gruesome tale.
But the cat came back....CHORUS
The cat it had some company one night out in the yard.
Someone threw a boot jack, and they threw it might 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.
But the cat came back....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.
But the cat came back....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.
But the cat came back....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 part and tossed the cat around,
The air was full of kittens, and not a one was ever found.
But the cat came back....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.
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.
