The Cat Came Back (Harry S. Miller, 1893) I I I I Old Mister Johnson had troubles of his own I I V V He had himself a yellow cat that wouldn't leave his home I I I I He tried everything he knew to get the cat away I I V I He gave it to the preacher and he told the cat to stay I I I I But the cat came back I I The very next day I I The cat came back I I I I They thought it was a goner, but the cat came back V I I I I 'Cause it wouldn't stay away Johnson had a neighbor said he'd kill the cat on sight He loaded up a shotgun full of 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 ... He gave it to a little boy with a dollar note He took it on the river in a little open boat He tied a stone around its neck that weighed about a pound Now they're dragging the river for the little boy that drowned But the cat came back ... He gave it to a man who was going way out West He told the man to give it to the one he loved the best The train went 'round the curve and it hit a broken rail Not a soul was left behind to tell the gruesome tale But the cat came back ... Away across the ocean he did send the cat at last The vessel only out a day and making water fast The 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 ... He gave it to a man going up in a balloon He told the man to give it to the man in the moon The balloon it busted and everybody said Ninety miles away they picked the man up dead But the cat came back ... The cat was the possessor of a family of its own With seven little kittens till there came a cyclone All the doors blew open and the cat was tossed around The air was full of kittens, and the house was never found But the cat came back (the kittens, too!) ... The cat was sleeping on the porch one fine and sunny day When a man with a banjo came and he began to play The cat looked around awhile and raised up its head When the man played [ the first phrase of Dueling Banjos ] the cat dropped dead But its ghost came back The very next day Its ghost came back The cat was a goner, but its ghost came back 'Cause it wouldn't stay away!