by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931)
The Mysterious Cat
Language: English
I saw a proud, mysterious cat, Too proud to catch a mouse or rat -- Mew, mew, mew. But catnip she would eat, and purr. And goldfish she did much prefer -- Mew, mew, mew. I saw a cat -- 'twas but a dream, Who scorned the slave that brought her cream -- Mew, mew, mew. (Unless the slave were dressed in style, And knelt before her all the while -- Mew, mew, mew.) Did you ever hear of a thing like that? Oh, what a proud mysterious cat. Mew ... mew ... mew.
Text Authorship:
- by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931), "The Mysterious Cat", appears in The Congo and Other Poems, first published 1914 [author's text not yet checked 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 Louis Gruenberg (1884 - 1964), "The Mysterious Cat", op. 22 no. 5, published 1925 [medium voice and piano], from Animals and Insects, no. 5. [text verified 1 time]
- by Eunice Lea Kettering (b. 1906), "The Mysterious Cat", published 1950. [SATB chorus a cappella] [text not verified]
- by Douglas Stuart Moore (1893 - 1969), "The Mysterious Cat", published 1960. [SSA chorus a cappella] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-02
Line count: 15
Word count: 87