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