Now, just like everybody, you've got troubles of your own,
But let me tell you, mister, of the sorrow I have known.
I had an old, gray cat that I couldn't bear to keep.
He spent the nights a-howlin' and he wouldn't let me sleep.
So I put him in a box and I tied it up quite well.
I had some fellas help me and I paid them not to tell.
They put it in a boxcar, the westbound 710.
The train pulled away and was never seen again.
But the cat came back the very next day.
Yes, the cat came back and he wouldn't stay away.
Meow, kitty. Meow, so pretty.
Meow, such a pity, but the cat came back.
We took him to the harbor and we put him on a ship.
We bid him, "Bon voyage," for that oceanic trip.
The captain was obliging and glad to help us out.
They tied him to the anchor so that there could be no doubt.
Well, we heard the sad report of that mighty storm at sea
And, though it may sound heartless, I was happy as can be.
The paper said the ship went down beneath a heavy gale
And not a single soul was left to tell the awful tale.
But the cat came back the very next day.
Yes, the cat came back and he wouldn't stay away.
Meow, kitty. Meow, so pretty.
Meow, such a pity, but the cat came back.
Then we gave him to a scientist destined for the moon.
The cat was used for ballast in an outer space balloon.
I guess you know what happened, that balloon is up there still
And early that next morning, guess what came across the hill.
Meow, that's right.
Now, everyone in town was sworn to shoot that cat on sight.
With that crazy cat around, you couldn't sleep at night.
We even formed a posse just to hunt that critter down.
You could hear the guns a-blazin' as we ran him out of town.
But the cat came back the very next day.
Yes, the cat came back and he wouldn't stay away.
Meow, kitty. Meow, so pretty.
Meow, such a pity, but the cat came back.
Here's the moral to our story: When looking for a friend,
If you get an old, gray cat, he's yours until the end.
You'll never drag him off, no matter what you do.
Bear in mind this dreadful tale that we have told to you.
But the cat came back the very next day.
Yes, the cat came back and he wouldn't stay away.
Meow, kitty. Meow, so pretty.
Meow, such a pity, but the cat came back.