Now old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own,
He had a yellow cat that wouldn't leave his home,
He tried and he tried to get that cat away,
Gave it to a man going far away.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away.

Now the man around the corner swore he'd kill the cat on sight,
He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamites,
He waited and he waited for the cat to come around,
Ninety-seven pieces of the man is all they found.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away.

Gave it to a little boy with a dollar note,
Told him for to take it up the river in a boat,
They tied a rope around its neck it must've weighed a pound,
Now they drag the river for the little boy it's drowned.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away.

Gave it to man going up in a balloon,
Told him for to take it to the man on the Moon,
The balloon came down about 90 miles away,
Where he is now, I dare not say.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away.

They gave it to a man going way out west,
Told him for to take it to the one he loved the best,
First, the train hit the curve, then it jumped the rail,
Not a soul was left behind to tell the gruesome tale.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away, away, away, away.

Away across the ocean he did send the cat at last,
Vessel out alone today taking water fast,
People all began to pray the boat began to toss,
A great big gust of wind came by and every soul was lost.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away.

On a telegraph wire, sparrows sitting in a bunch,
The cat was feeling hungry, thought she'd like them for a lunch,
Climb softly up the pole, when she reached the top,
Put her foot in the electric wire, which tied her in a knot.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought he was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away.

Now the cat was a possessor of a family of a own,
With seven little kittens and along came a cyclone,
Blew the houses all apart and tossed the cat around,
The air was full of kittens and not a one was found.

But the cat came back, the very next day,
The cat came back, they thought she was a goner,
But the cat came back, just wouldn't stay away, away, away, away,
Just wouldn't stay away.