by Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (1846 - 1901)
What did she see – oh, what did she see
Language: English
What did she see – oh, what did she see, As she stood leaning against the tree? Why all the Cats had come to tea. What a fine turn out – from round about, All the houses had let them out, And here they were with scamper and shout. "Mew – mew – mew!" was all they could say, And, "We hope we find you well to-day." Oh, what should she do – oh, what should she do? What a lot of milk they would get through; For here they were with "Mew – mew – mew!" She didn't know – oh, she didn't know, If bread and butter they'd like or no; They might want little mice, oh! oh! oh! Dear me – oh, dear me, All the cats had come to tea.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Catherine "Kate" Greenaway (1846 - 1901), "The Cats Have Come To Tea" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Derek Healey (b. 1936), "The Cats have left for tea", op. 146 no. 11 (2015) [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Bianco's Delight: a bakers dozen cat songs, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2023-06-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 134