Old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own
He had a yellow cat which wouldn't leave his 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, they thought he was a goner
But the cat came back; he just couldn't stay away.
He gave it to a man going up in a balloon,
Told him to give it to the man in the moon;
Balloon cam down about ninety miles away,
But where the man is today I cannot say.
(Chorus)
He gave it to a man going way out West,
Told him to give it to the one he loved best,
The train hit a curve, then it jumped the rail,
Not a soul's alive to tell that gruesome tail.
(Chorus)
The man around the corner swore he'd shoot that 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;
Tied a rope around its neck, must have weighed a pound
Now they drag the river for a little boy that's drowned.
(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, but not a one was ever found.
(Chorus)